Introduction to

History of United States

United States at a Glance
 United States at a Glance
• Independence Date: 3rd Sep, 1783
• Declaration of Independence: 4th July, 1776
• President: Donald Trump
• Total Area: 9.834 million km²
• Largest City: New York
• Population: 327.2 million (2018)
• GDP: 19.39 trillion USD (2017)
• Per Capita Income: $60,200 (2017)
• Official Language(s): None at federal level
 Why study US History?
• To make sense of present through a historic lens
• To know how and why our world is the way it is today
• To understand why some rules exist in the modern world e.g.,
• US democratic system,
• economic growth,
• rise as a military and economic superpower,
• minority rights,
• social welfare system,
• evolution of US Constitution and it’s amendments,
• US alliances with other countries,
• it’s economic and military rivalries etc.
• To paraphrase: to know how US arrived at where it is today. what
motivated it’s forefathers, the choices they made, and the results of those
choices.
 US History Syllabus
Pre-Partition Post-Partition
• Early America • Bill of Rights
• Exploration of America • War Of 1812
• Race of Colonization • Civil War
• Distribution of Colonies • Progressivism
• War of Independence • Great Depression
• Pre-mature stage • Missouri Compromise
• Mature stage • Watergate Scandal
• Mercantilism • Cold War
• US Constitution • Slavery
• World War I
• World War II
 US History Syllabus
American Presidents
• George Washington
• Thomas Jefferson
• Andrew Jackson
• Abraham Lincoln
• Franklin D Roosevelt
• Woodrow Wilson
• Harry S Truman
• John F Kennedy
• Richard Nixon
Short Notes
• Monroe Doctrine
• Truman Doctrine
• Bush Doctrine
• Dulles Doctrine
• Scandals of Bill Clinton
• Malcolm X
• Jazz Age
• U2 Crisis
• Cuban Missile Crisis
• McCarthyism
• Dollar Diplomacy
• Open Door Diplomacy
• Manifest Destiny
• Democrats v/s Republicans
• Capitalism v/s Communism
• King Martin Luther Jr.
• Pan Americanism
• NATO - North Atlantic Treaty Organization
• New World Order
• USA Nuclear Umbrella System
 Tricks of the Trade to prepare for
US History
• These include
• chronological thinking,
• historical comprehension,
• historical analysis and interpretation,
• historical research capabilities, and
• historical analysis and decision making.
• First we look at chronological thinking. Before you can start on any
historical journey, you must fulfill the requirements by:
• knowing the difference between past, present, and the future
• keeping track of the story
• interpreting and creating Time Lines
 US History Time Line (1492-Present)
1492 Columbus "discovers" America 1861-1865 Civil War

1492-1620 Age of Explorers 1865-1875 Reconstruction

1620-1664 European colonies 1875-1914 Republic to Empire

1664-1763 Competition for colonies 1914-1918 World War I

1763-1776 British Empire 1919-1929 The Roaring Twenties

1776-1783 War of Independence 1930-1939 The Great Depression

1783-1812 Formation of the country 1939-1945 World War II

1812-1814 War of 1812 1946-1988 The Cold War

1815-1848 Growth of the nation 1989-2001 Post-Cold War era

1848-1861 Prelude to war 2001-present War against Terror

• Next we have historical comprehension.
• Here we must look deeper into the meaning of historical events.
We do this by:
• identifying and understanding the author or source of a historical
document
• understanding the meaning of a historical passage
• coming up with data based on maps, charts, graphs, photographs, and
other source materials
• Now we turn to historical analysis and interpretation to make
you a critical, analytical thinker. This is done by:
• formulating questions that will help focus on historical analysis
• comparing and contrasting differing ideas
• evaluating historical fiction
• knowing the difference between fact and fiction
• considering different points of view
• explaining causes and effects
• coming up with theories about what has impacted on past
• The next area involves historical research which involves:
• formulating historical questions
• getting historical facts
• questioning historical data
• using your knowledge of history to create a story or historical narrative.
• One of the best places to do historical research on the Internet
is at the Library of Congress at:

http://www.loc.gov
• The last area you need to master before beginning our journey
is Historical Issues Analysis and Decision-Making, where you
are
• identifying problems and dilemmas in the past
• analyzing the different points of view of the people involved
• identifying causes and effects of the problem
• proposing alternative solutions
• identifying the solution you selected
• evaluating the consequences of your decision
• This is one of the most exciting areas of historical research
 Suggested Books
1. History of the United States of America (From Colonization to present)
by R.K Majumdar and A.N Srivastava

2. Outline of the US History by U.S State Department

3. History of the United States by Charles A. Beard and Mary R. Beard

4. A Pocket History of the United States -Commager, H. and Nevins, Allan,

1967

5. The Complete Book of U.S. Presidents. William. A. De Gregorio, 2005

 Early America
• At the height of the Ice Age, between 34,000 and 30,000 B.C., much of the world’s water was
locked up in vast continental ice sheets.
• As a result, the Bering Sea was hundreds of meters below its current level, and a land bridge,
known as Beringia, emerged between Asia and North America.
• The first people to reach North America almost certainly did so without knowing they had crossed
into a new continent.

• Early Settlers in America

• Hohokam: living in settlements in what is now Phoenix, Arizona
• Adenans: first native American groups
• Hopewellians replaced Adenans, were traders and made tools
• Anasazi or Mississippians
• Early people were mainly agriculturalists:
• built villages, grew crops; built mounds of earth in shape of pyramids, birds, serpents, society was clan-oriented,
believed in spirits
• Native Americans: Population ranging from 18-40 million
• Red Indians
• Mayans
• Aztecs
• Incas
 First Europeans in North America
• Norse were the first Europeans to arrive in America
• Travelled west from Greenland, and established a settlement in
the year 985
• It was 500 years before other Europeans reached North
America
• First explorers were searching for a sea passage to Asia
• British, Dutch, French, and Spanish came later to claim land
and riches and referred to it as the “New World”
 Exploration of America
• The most famous explorer was Christopher Columbus
• His voyage brought Americans and Europeans in contact
• Born in 1447 in Genoa, Italy; son of a wool comber
• Believed that sailing across the Atlantic Ocean was the shortest
sea route to Asia and Japan is less than 3000 miles to the west
of Europe
• Assumed that the earth’s circumference is a third less than it
actually was
 Columbus voyages
• Columbus spent 10 years seeking financial assistance to explore the
Indies across Atlantic Ocean
• Rejected by Portuguese, and rulers of England and France
• He finally succeeded in convincing King Ferdinand and Queen
Isabella of Spain to finance his expedition
• Voyages of Columbus
• 1st Voyage, 1492: San Salvador, The Bahamas, Cuba, Hispanola
• 2nd Voyage, 1493: Dominica, Hispanola, Puerto Rico, Cuba, Jamaica
• 3rd Voyage, 1498: St. Vincent, Grenanda, Trinidad, Margarita, Venezuela
• 4th Voyage, 1502: St. Lucia, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama
• Columbus came in contact with native Americans and Red Indians
but failed to establish colonies in the new found land
• Columbus died in 1506
 Other Explorers
• John Cabot of Venice came to America after Columbus on a mission
for the King of England which provided the basis for British claims on
North America
• Amerigo Vespuccious, sailed across American coast and was the
first to realize that the Indies were a “New World” and not part of
Asia. “America” was the name given to the new continent in honor
of Amerigo Vespuccious
• First map of America was published in 1507
• Other Names of America
• New World
• Strange Land
• Golden Land
 Colonization of America
• A colony is composed of a group of people who leave their
country to settle in a new country and make that place their
permanent home and remain under the protection of their
mother country.
• During 16th and 17th centuries, a number of un-inhabited lands
were discovered and various European powers encouraged
their people to settle there.
• Discovery of American continent led to a competition amongst
the European powers to a colonize the area
 Colonization of the New Continent
Spanish Colonization of America
• Spaniards were the first to attempt colonization of America
• 1509: city of Santo Domingo was founded by Bartholomeo, brother
of Columbus
• 1511: Puerto Rico, Jamaica and Cuba were occupied
• 1513: Pacific ocean and Gulf of Mexico were also discovered
• Unsuccessful attempts were made to control Florida from 1512-1521
• 1518: Mexico was acquired by killing Aztecs
• 1535: Peru was acquired
• Spain’s explorations, conquest and colonization were attempts to
plant her laws, religion, and ideology in the new world
• They used Missionaries along with military expeditions to convert
people to Christianity
• Churches and schools were built, agriculture and plantations were
introduced.
• Soon, they realized that Indians could not work so they brought
slaves from Africa. So the system was slavery grew.
• Spanish ruled over America for over a century when it’s power
eventually declined.
• France and England grew as new powers
French Colonization of America
• French explorers started to visit the new continent by first quarter of sixteenth
century
• They landed in northmost parts of North America which we call Canada today
• For a century, they made efforts to establish colonies in South America but failed
• In 1664, French West India Company was founded
• In 1669, France also sent missionaries, traders and explorers to southern parts of
North America
• The French slowly started their colonization from north to south and claimed the
whole territory
• The British were confined to the coastlines while the French controlled the interior
• The French also successfully colonized the West Indies in sixteenth and
seventeenth century
• These areas remained with French till end of eighteenth century
British colonization of America
• British remained disinterested in explorations in the earlier half of
16th Century. However, during the Elizabethan era, navy was
organized and interest in exploration revived
• England was also fast becoming an industrial country; trade with
territories was booming and commercial and political rivalry with
Spain was getting intense
• Spain attempted a naval attack on England in 1558 but was
defeated. This incident is known as defeat of Spanish Armada.
• After that, explorers and colonizers were given royal patronage for
expeditions
• 1583: Gilbert reached Newfoundland
• 1584: Sir Walter Raleigh reached Southern Carolina and took
possession of the entire country. He later acquired Virginia.
• 1587: more expeditions were sent but were unsuccessful in
colonization
• This made England realize that it should be well equipped in it’s
attempts to colonize. Therefore, Queen granted charter to the
companies to trade and colonize in 1606.
• These companies were granted monopoly over commerce over a
particular area of earth’s surface which paved the way for
colonization of the New World
 English Colonies in American
Continent
• 1607: London or Virginia company founded James Town, grew
Tobacco and introduced administration of colony through a
representative assembly. It eventually became a self governing
body which irked the King of England.
• In 1625, the charter of the company was revoked and control
was taken back by the King.
• 1606: Plymouth Company was granted charter. They sold the
rights to pilgrims in 1620 through mayflower compact. The
pilgrims formed a body politic with a governor in-charge,
consolidated control of eight towns. Massachusetts joined the
colony in 1691
• 1629: Massachusetts Bay Company was granted charter.
Rulers of this company were puritans.
• The Puritans were English Protestants in the 16th and 17th
centuries who sought to purify the Church of England of Roman
Catholic practices, maintaining that the Church of England had
not been fully reformed and needed to become more
Protestant.
• The colony remained self governing till it’s charter was revoked
in 1691 and a royal governor was appointed.
• The colonies of New York and Delaware were divided between
two joint stock companies
• Dutch West India Company in 1623
• Swedish Company in 1638
• English wanted control of both these colonies as they separated
English settlements. English got control of both colonies in 1664
• The colony of Connecticut was founded by dissident group of
puritans who migrated to the south of Massachusetts in the
Connecticut valley in 1625.
• They framed their own constitution and established
representative government.
• Rhode Islands was another colony which was founded in 1636 by a
dissident priest who developed differences with colonizers and
administrators.
• Seven more colonies were founded by people who were given Charters
and propriety rights as constitutional monarchs over the land granted to
them by the Sovereign of England
• These colonies were:
• Maryland
• New Hampshire
• New Jersey
• North Carolina
• South Carolina
• Pennsylvania and
• Georgia
British possessions
in America
New England Middle Atlantic Southern
Colonies Colonies Colonies

Maine New York Virginia

Massachusetts Maryland North Carolina

Connecticut Delaware South Carolina

Rhode Island New Jersey Georgia

Pennsylvania
 Causes of Colonization
• Imperial Race
• Land and colonies as a symbol of power
• Growing population
• 15 million people living in Europe
• Expanding trade
• Europe dependent on Asian for trade, herbs and agriculture. Asian routes blocked by
Ottomans
• Search for new routes
• Search for shortest possible route to Asia
• Improvement in technology
• Gun powder, compass, ship building and cartography
• Renaissance in Europe
• Printing press
• Religious conflicts in Europe
• War between Protestants and Catholic Christians
• Desire for wealth
• Search of the “Golden Land”
Thank You