Name
Professor
Class
Date
American History
Native peoples of North American
The years 1491 and 1610 are very symbolic in the Native American culture; 1491 symbolizes pre-contact Native Americans and 1610 became the first permanent English settlement moment in Jamestown (Sutton 73). There were several different Indian populations in the present-day United States each of these groups lived a lifestyle in accordance with its environment. The Native American culture was composed of diverse cultural groups, as it was not just a one-prototype Native American. There were many cultural groups of Native Americans with diverse culture, which inhabited the land before the Europeans arrived.
In the late 15th century 2 worlds met; 1 European and 1 Native American and more than five centuries later the consequences of that encounter are still being felt. The Native American tribes of North America are Kwakiutl, Lakota, Pueblo, Inuit, and Iroquois (Sutton 73). The Inuit lived in arctic area currently known as Alaska and northern Canada. They lived in cold areas characterized by Tundra, which is an ice desert. The temperature is usually below freezing point most of the years. In order to survive in these harsh conditions, the Inuit lived in igloos, which were made out of snow ice. The Kwakiutl lived in present-day Washington and Oregon, which is in the Pacific Northwest. They are characterized by a rainy and mild climate. Kwakiutl used canoes to gather food, travel and trade. Their homes were large enough to put their whole extended families in one house. The Pueblo lived in present-day southwest United States; this is a desert area boarding cliffs and mountains. Next is the Inuit tribe located in arctic northern Alaska. This tribe grappled with the cold temperatures of their environment. Inuit were primarily hunters since the geography is vastly different with little vegetation that can survive in the environment.
The Columbian Exchange
With financing being provided by the king and queen of Spain, Christopher Columbus sailed to the new world in 1492 (Specht 37). Columbus moved from Spain and sailed in hope of finding a quick direction to the Indies. He successfully landed in Cuba and discovered America. With Columbus innovations, trade began between the two different worlds, which is known as the Colombian exchange. Colombian exchange is defined as the transportation of plants, animals, microbes, and people across the Atlantic and back; not only by trading them but also transplanting them from Europe and Africa into the new world. Although many people seem to think about Christopher Columbus initial voyage in 1492, changing the history of Americans, it literary modified a great deal more significantly (Specht 37). This process brought immense environmental effect that had real repercussions.
The year 1492 was the most important moment in history because of the encounters in eastern and western hemispheres, which initiated a string of changes that transformed every aspect of life all around the planet. The changes brought by the Colombian exchange were momentous. The two hemispheres of the world had separate ecosystems, which had developed on their own for thousands of years. The back and forth transfer of these elements brought an alteration to both hemisphere systems. In some regions, the Colombian exchange of microbes and plants was disastrous for Native Americans, which was a double win for Europeans (Specht 36). At first, Europeans obtained a supply of food that permitted unprecedented reproduction. Next, they gained access to more land largely for indigenous people. As a result, the exchange exhausted the population on the American side of the Atlantic while swelling those of the European and African. Eventually, the surplus population in Europe and Africa flowed westwards to fill the population vacuum created on the American new Atlantic universe.
Early English settlements at Roanoke and Jamestown
Sir Walter in 1585 originally started and funded Roanoke. The colony did not go well from the beginning as Native Americans cut off this supply routes and those who survived during the winter starved to death. It took many years to the rise of Jamestown colony on the James River aptly named for King James (Donegan 69). After the first year of war, only 40 people survived. Among the survivors in that era, there came across two famous people, John Smith and Pocahontas. Smith was the governor of the colony and saved the colony with the saying “he that will not work shall not eat.” Pocahontas was a Native American princess, daughter of the Powhatan chief. She died at the age of 22; even after her death, she continued to have an impact on the relationship between the Jamestown settlers and the Powhatans.
In 1622, the English kept on taking over more land that letter brought vast problems between the Europeans and Native Americans. As a result, Powhantas attacked the settlements killing hundreds of settlers which sparked up many rebellions, with the most famous being Bacons Rebellion. In 1676, Nathaniel Bacon and other farmers wanted the governor to seize more land from native America because they wanted it for tobacco plantations (Donegan 71). Governor Barkley refused to say there had been too much fight. Bacon later matched to Jamestown and took over the House of Burgesses, which is today Virginias and Americas first full representative government. Native Americans believed that the land belonged to all, whereas the English had the opinion of privatizing land and property.
Salem Witch trials
Salem Witch trials began in the spring of 1692 in Salem Massachusetts after two girls accused women of being witches, fear paranoia and hysteria snowballed into a societal nightmare (Goss 90). A series of accusations resulted in nearly two dozen people in England being put to death in supposedly practicing witchcraft. Many were brought to judges with little to no evidence against them except for the baseless testimonies of others. Unfortunately, things got out of hand destroying lives, breaking up families and thrusting their little villages into disarray. Under the English law, the trials at Salem did not work the way people are used to presently, with lawyers and strict rules about evidence. Often these trials would be heavily weighed against the accused; in fear of execution, many confessed. Surprising those who confessed to witchcraft were not executed but the others who refused were executed.
Two girls Betty Perris and Abigail Williams began exhibiting chicken pox symptoms. Certain individuals within the community became convinced that the girls had been cursed by witchcraft. The citizens of Salem village began seeing witchcraft everywhere and in 1692, more women were arrested. Those who were accused were placed on trial and if they were found guilty, the punishment was death. No one was quite sure what caused the sudden panic over witches in Salem village. Some have simply attributed this to mass psychogenic illness or mass hysteria. Rapid accusations and fear fuelled the frenzy, which eventually led to the executions (Goss 23). Twenty people had lost their lives and Salem village had forever earned its mark in the history books.
The Seven Years’ War
A four to seven year of war entailed Austrian war of succession where Britain and Austria fought against France and Prussia, which ended with a French and Prussian victory as Prussian annexed the state of Silesia (Baugh 397). After the war on succession, Britain, which was previously an ally with Prussia, saw Austria as too weak against France. Therefore, Britain made an alliance with Prussia and France. The seven years’ war all started in the European colonies in the Americas as Britain and France both sought claiming in the mortaring land between the 13 colonies and Novellas (Baugh 670). As French built villages, Britain under Washington attacked the French. Meanwhile in Europe, Prussia knew that Austria and its neighbour would declare war (Baugh 673).
Prussia then invaded Saxony an ally of Austria. They were able to take Dresden but failed to take Prag; as a result, Sweden declared war on Prussia hoping to regain some proper alien land as France entered in Hanover. The Prussians were fighting a war for funds. Although they were gaining many financial aids from the British, none was nearly enough to stop his enemies. Britain, on the other hand, had more success; they were able to take French Senegal, French India, Quebec, and Montreal. In 1762, Spain entered the war and invaded Portugal an ally of Britain (Baugh 633). The British responded by invading Havana and Manila. As the Austrians lost her eastern allies they were now interested in creating peace. The war ended in 1763 of the treaty of Paris, as all European border was restored, Cuba and Manila were given back to Spain. The war left many countries in financial problems who then led to the partition of Poland and many revolutions.
The Constitutional Convention
After America issued a declaration of independence, the country was launched into a war with the most powerful country in the world. The United States government had serious difficulties supplying General Washington’s troops with supplies to fight the British because the Congress did not have the power to tax. The confederation congress was forced to beg other countries and individual states for money. America had created a confederation in which the states had all of the power under its first constitution; in addition to lacking the power to tax, the government had only one branch, a legislature (Bilder 32).
In the summer of 1787, 55 delegates representing twelve of the thirteen states met in Philadelphia in May of 1787. In addition to Washington, Madison, and Hamilton, the famous Benjamin Franklin also attended the congregation. The delegates chose Washington to preside over the convention, as no one would question his selfless loyalty to the United States. The constitutional convention consisted of a series of compromises or settlements of disputes in which each side gave some of their demands (Bilder 117). Many state constitutions consist of essential rights and freedoms such as Virginia’s declaration of rights. Many delegates argued that the separation of powers made a list of rights unnecessary; this issue would soon arise in the ratification debate. However, after a long hot summer, the constitution was finally approved.
Works Cited
Baugh, Daniel, and Daniel A. Baugh. The Global Seven Years War 1754-1763: Britain and France in a Great Power Contest. New York. Routledge, 2014.
Bilder, Mary Sarah. Madison’s Hand: Revising the Constitutional Convention. United States. Harvard University Press, 2015.
Donegan, Kathleen. Seasons of Misery: Catastrophe and Colonial Settlement in Early America. University of Pennsylvania Press, 2013.
Goss, K. David. The Salem witch trials: a reference guide. London. ABC-CLIO, 2008.
Specht, Joshua, and Etienne Stockland. The Columbian Exchange. London. Macat Library, 2017.
Sutton, Mark Q. An introduction to native North America. New York. Routledge, 2016.
.
