About American history

More than 20,000 years ago, a group of vagrants from Asia came to Central and South America through North America. These people are the ancestors of Indians. When Columbus discovered the New World, there were about 20 million Indians living in America, of whom about 1 10,000 lived in today's Canada and north-central America, and most of the rest lived in today's Mexico and South America. About 1 10,000 years ago, another group of Asians moved to northern North America, which became the Eskimos. The first white people to come to America may be vikings. They are a group of adventurous fishermen. Some people think that they went to the east coast of North America 1 0,000 years ago.

Colonial period

1607, a colonial group of about 100 people established Jamestown in Schabik Beach, which was the first permanent colony established by Britain in North America. In the following 150 years, many colonists came in and settled in the coastal areas, most of them came from Britain, and some came from France, Germany, the Netherlands, Ireland and other countries. 1In the middle of the 8th century, 13 British colonies gradually formed, with their own government and parliament under the supreme sovereignty of Britain. Due to the differences in climate and geographical environment, these 13 colonies have different economic forms, political systems and concepts.

Independent movement

Philadelphia Independence Hall: 1776 The American Declaration of Independence was signed here. /kloc-in the middle of the 0/8th century, there was a rift between Britain and the American colonies. The expansion of the colonies made them consciously persecuted in Britain, and they had the idea of independence.

1773, Boston tea party, anti-dumping. 1774, representatives from 13 states gathered in Philadelphia to hold the so-called first continental congress, hoping to find a reasonable way to solve the problem peacefully with Britain. But the British king insisted that the colony must unconditionally submit to the British king and accept punishment. 1775, the war was ignited in Lexington, Massachusetts; 1776 in may, the second continental congress was held in Philadelphia, which strengthened the determination of war and independence, issued the famous declaration of independence, and put forward sufficient reasons for fighting this war. 1777 10, Saratoga stepped up its efforts to reverse the unfavorable situation in the early days of the War of Independence. This service has greatly increased the confidence of the American people and won international support. 1778 In February, France signed a military alliance treaty with the United States, and France officially recognized the United States. France, Spain and the Netherlands went to war. 178 1 year, the battle of York city won a decisive victory. After the Battle of Yorktown, except for several battles at sea and sporadic battles on land, the war on the North American continent has basically stopped. 1782165438+1On October 30th, Britain and the United States signed the draft Paris Peace Treaty. 1783 On September 3rd, Britain officially recognized American independence.

form a new government

The success of the revolution gave the American people the opportunity to express their political ideas in the form of legislation. 1787, a federal conference was held in Philadelphia, during which Washington was promoted as the chairman. They adopted the principle that the power of the central government is universal, but it must be carefully defined and explained. At the same time, they also accepted the fact that the national government must have the right to tax, mint money, adjust commerce, declare war and conclude treaties. In addition, in order to prevent the central power from being too large, Montesquieu's political theory of balance of power is adopted, that is, three departments of equal cooperation and mutual checks and balances are set up in the government, that is, the legislative, administrative and judicial powers are reconciled and balanced with each other, and no power occupies a controlling position.

Expand westward

/kloc-At the beginning of the 9th century, thousands of people crossed the Appalachian Mountains and moved westward. Some pioneers moved to the border of the United States and even went deep into the territory of Mexico and Oregon between Alaska and California. Pioneers bravely and diligently sought a better life in the west.

the Civil War

The causes of civil war are not only economic, political and military issues, but also ideological conflicts. The civil war exposed America's weakness. The existence of this country has been tested. After this test, the United States embarked on the road of a centralized and modern country. There is a dispute between the north and the south on the issue of slavery. The main policy of the south in national politics is to protect and expand the interests represented by the "cotton and slavery" system; The northern States are mainly manufacturing, commercial and financial centers, and there is no need to rely on slaves for these production. This kind of economic and political conflict has a long history. In the early 1960s, 1 1 Southern states broke away from the federation and formed another government, while the North said that it would do whatever it took to achieve reunification. 186 1 year, the civil war broke out. Americans fought face to face for four years, and the south was severely damaged, leaving deep scars. 1865, the defeat of the north not only shows the reunification of the United States, but also shows that slavery is no longer practiced in the whole country.

Industrialization and reform

/kloc-at the beginning of the 0/9th century, the United States began to industrialize, but after the civil war, it entered a mature stage. In less than 50 years from the Civil War to the First World War, the United States has changed from an agricultural country to an urbanized country. Machines have replaced manual work, and products have greatly increased. The national railway network has improved the circulation of goods. In order to meet the needs of the public, many new inventions have entered the market. The banking industry provides loans to promote the development of industry and commerce. So the nearly 30 years from 1890 to 19 17 is called the so-called "progress period". 19 14, the first world war broke out; 19 17, the United States was involved in the whirlpool of war and tried to play a new role in the world.

The new position of the world

During the 10 year after the war, American society and culture can be said to be a 10 year with no life and no feelings. According to the statistics of 1929, the ratio of living in cities to living in rural areas is 56:44. At this time, all the features of modern life, such as cars, telephones, radios and washing machines, have become necessities of life. The post-war economy was extremely prosperous for two reasons: first, the government no longer intervened in private enterprises to protect them by legislation; The second is driven by new technology. Although the economy is growing rapidly, the foundation is unstable.

Great Depression and World War II

The Great Depression not only affected the United States, but also affected all countries in the world. The economic panic caused millions of workers to lose their jobs, a large number of farmers were forced to give up their farmland, factories and shops closed, banks closed down and there was a depression. 1932, franklin roosevelt was elected president. He argued that the government should take action to end the economic panic. Although the new government solved many difficulties, the American economy didn't wake up until World War II. After World War II, with the defeat of the Axis countries and the decline of the strength of Britain and France, the United States and the Soviet Union became superpowers, and the world was divided into two camps. The United States and the Soviet Union and their respective camps have stepped up preparations in military, political, economic and propaganda aspects, just like in wartime. This state is called "Cold War".

The cold war came to an end

From 1960, American history is a continuation of postwar development in many ways. In addition to the cyclical recession, the economy is still expanding; The number of people moving from the city to the suburbs continues to increase. 1970, the population living in suburbs exceeded the population living in cities. 1960, the black issue has become the most important issue in the United States.

In the mid-1960s, many Americans began to be dissatisfied with the government's foreign policy. In addition, due to the development of industry and the concentration of population, the pollution of ecological environment was widely concerned in the late 1960 s, and the economic depression caused by the energy crisis was the most serious since the Great Panic in the early 1970 s. In the mid-1970s, the American economy once recovered. But in the late 1970s, inflation reappeared.

1976, the bicentennial of the founding of the United States, various celebrations were held all over the country. The United States finally brought down the Soviet Union in the Cold War. 199 1 With the disintegration of the Soviet Union, the United States became the only superpower in the world, and the ideological barriers between the two camps in the world were also broken. 1981April 12, the United States successfully launched the space shuttle Columbia, bringing mankind into another new era in space.

Terrorist attacks and counter-terrorism policies

9 1 1 Event: The most serious terrorist attack in human history. The "9. 1 1 incident" which occurred in new york and Washington in 200 1 year had a great influence in the United States and around the world. This incident is by far the most serious terrorist attack in human history. The U.S. government's condemnation and position on this incident have also received sympathy and support from most countries; After the incident, there were various mourning activities all over the world. This incident also caused the focus of American foreign policy to shift to dealing with the threat of terrorism. The U.S. government began the war and action against terrorism. 20065438+ 10 After the overthrow of the Taliban regime in Afghanistan in June, the Iraq war was launched in 2003 to overthrow Saddam Hussein's regime and establish an interim Iraqi government.