Unit One - Geography and Development of the United States
The best way to start this section is by opening, completing and learning the outline maps of the United States. In addition, also learn the three maps that are links on the bottom of the U.S History homepage [The Fifty States, Physical and Climatic, and Regions of the United States].
Early America
Who were the first Americans? the answer can be found in the following documents: the Native American migrations map and the Native American Cultural areas map (circa 1450 C.E.). One Native American region can be found in Florida. The Seminole Indians still live in certain parts of the state and this short document with pictures gives you an idea of their history and culture.
The Americas changed with the arrival of the Spanish and other subsequent European nations after Columbus. the following is a chart of the most important European Explorers and it is expanded by the Exploration, settlement and discovery handout. The European treatment of the Native Americans and the European Colonial government chart best explain the new social and political systems developed in the Americas.
We know them as pilgrims and we celebrate their arrival very Thanksgiving but who were these people and why did they come to the New World? The answers can be found in the lesson in the Puritan Migrations to the Americas handout and the signing of the Mayflower Compact, a very important document in American history. Their original destination was the colony at Roanoke and I have added a recruiting poster for the Virginia colonies to show how these crossings across the Atlantic Ocean were promoted.
The British developed the Thirteen Colonies and this lesson combined with an important Thirteen Colonies map help show life in a Colonial Society with this important lesson handout. A typical New England village drawing clearly shows what life was like in these times and the importance of a cohesive society. Another way to better understand these times is seen through a sample of a colonial newspaper.
The American History timeline from 1675 to 1700 will help link changes in society and the following documents help show who the new immigrants and their traditions and customs were. The Shakers came from the northwest of England and the Great Awakening lesson and the Great Awakening pictures to accompany the lesson tell of the religious complacency that took place in the northern colonies.
Travel to the colonies was hazardous, emphasized with a lesson on shipwrecks. I have also added some of my pictures of early Boston and an overview of the Whaling Industry which was an integral way of life, especially on Long Island and New England.
Colonial society was agriculture based and the following documents discuss the labor needs of early American society. The first is an Indentured Servitude presentation that will lead to the beginning of slavery in America. Local history is learned through Slavery on Long Island from primary documents and a picture presentation of the African American Burial Ground in New York City.
The best way to start this section is by opening, completing and learning the outline maps of the United States. In addition, also learn the three maps that are links on the bottom of the U.S History homepage [The Fifty States, Physical and Climatic, and Regions of the United States].
Early America
Who were the first Americans? the answer can be found in the following documents: the Native American migrations map and the Native American Cultural areas map (circa 1450 C.E.). One Native American region can be found in Florida. The Seminole Indians still live in certain parts of the state and this short document with pictures gives you an idea of their history and culture.
The Americas changed with the arrival of the Spanish and other subsequent European nations after Columbus. the following is a chart of the most important European Explorers and it is expanded by the Exploration, settlement and discovery handout. The European treatment of the Native Americans and the European Colonial government chart best explain the new social and political systems developed in the Americas.
We know them as pilgrims and we celebrate their arrival very Thanksgiving but who were these people and why did they come to the New World? The answers can be found in the lesson in the Puritan Migrations to the Americas handout and the signing of the Mayflower Compact, a very important document in American history. Their original destination was the colony at Roanoke and I have added a recruiting poster for the Virginia colonies to show how these crossings across the Atlantic Ocean were promoted.
The British developed the Thirteen Colonies and this lesson combined with an important Thirteen Colonies map help show life in a Colonial Society with this important lesson handout. A typical New England village drawing clearly shows what life was like in these times and the importance of a cohesive society. Another way to better understand these times is seen through a sample of a colonial newspaper.
The American History timeline from 1675 to 1700 will help link changes in society and the following documents help show who the new immigrants and their traditions and customs were. The Shakers came from the northwest of England and the Great Awakening lesson and the Great Awakening pictures to accompany the lesson tell of the religious complacency that took place in the northern colonies.
Travel to the colonies was hazardous, emphasized with a lesson on shipwrecks. I have also added some of my pictures of early Boston and an overview of the Whaling Industry which was an integral way of life, especially on Long Island and New England.
Colonial society was agriculture based and the following documents discuss the labor needs of early American society. The first is an Indentured Servitude presentation that will lead to the beginning of slavery in America. Local history is learned through Slavery on Long Island from primary documents and a picture presentation of the African American Burial Ground in New York City.
Additional local history: You may have read or will read one day The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, written by Washington Irving. Sleepy Hollow is in Westchester Country adjacent to the Hudson River close to the Mario Cuomo (the Old Tappan Zee) bridge. The area was originally settled by the Dutch as part of New Amsterdam. In 1685 the Dutch settlers built a church with a burial ground (Old Dutch church). The picture below, taken by me in August, 2020, is of the church. The grounds are supposed to be haunted by the "headless horseman."
“Indeed, certain of the most authentic historians of those parts, who have been careful in collecting and collating the floating facts concerning this spectre, allege that the body of the trooper, having been buried in the church-yard, the ghost rides forth to the scene of battle in nightly quest of his head; and that the rushing speed with which he sometimes passes along the Hollow, like a midnight blast, is owing to his being belated, and in a hurry to get back to the church-yard before daybreak.”
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow (a cool place to visit on Halloween night).
There are many famous people buried in this cemetery along with Washington Irving. It is the final resting place of Samuel Gompers, Andrew Carnegie, William Rockefeller, Elizabeth Arden, and both Harry and Leona Helmsley.
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow (a cool place to visit on Halloween night).
There are many famous people buried in this cemetery along with Washington Irving. It is the final resting place of Samuel Gompers, Andrew Carnegie, William Rockefeller, Elizabeth Arden, and both Harry and Leona Helmsley.
The Road to Revolution
It is during these times that the term Salutary Neglect is associated with the British government and their rule over the colonies. This handout covers the terminology and events during the period before 1775. The political dominance of the British crown, seen in an overview of Mercantilism in North America led to a lack of rights and subsequent unrest in the colonies and the events that took place are seen in the Milestones in early American history chart. With the Four Wars fought by the mother country, the need for colonial support was evident. The Imperial wars and colonial protest handout, the Imperial wars map, and an illustrative French and Indian War map cover the start of social unrest and the demand for more rights. Benjamin Franklin called for the Albany Plan of the Union to take place. Despite its failure, it is best known for his famous Join or Die cartoon.
The ideas of the Enlightenment, shown in the Enlightenment Ideas about Government chart, played a major role in the American Revolution but there were also key events that led up to the war. The Boston Massacre picture presentation and the Boston Tea Party tell of the hostilities in the colonies. A presentation on the American Revolution helps explain the Olive Branch Petition and the Declaration of Independence.
Thomas Paine, an Englishman who moved to the colonies to gain wealth, wrote the famous pamphlet which is the focus of the lesson on Common Sense, which is accompanied by the Common Sense extract short lesson with questions. The Paine versus Dickinson argument assignment was created to show both sides of the story.
The Battle of Bunker Hill in pictures and maps starts the American Revolution but the need for a new government during the war is shown in the Articles of Confederation presentation. This will later be replaced (in the following unit) by the Constitution of the United States of America but it is an important document in American history that has to be fully understood.
The American Revolution will end with a decisive colonial victory and is seen by a British cartoon on the Battle of Yorktown.
