History of the USA - the history of the United States of America
   
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Vacation 2 USA   >   History

   

History


Humans are believed to have first reached North America around 20,000 years ago, by crossing the Bering land bridge from Asia. These people settled and became the indigenous inhabitants of the Americas prior to the arrival of the Europeans.

The first European settlement in North America was established by Leif Erikson and the Vikings in 1000 AD, in what is today Newfoundland. However, this colony did not last for long, and it was several hundred years before Europeans reached the continent again. It has also been claimed that muslim explorers from Spain or Northwest Africa may have reached the continent, but this claim remains disputed.

The first European that is certain to have reached United States territory is Christopher Columbus who landed in Puerto Rico in 1492. Following Columbus, more and more Europeans began to arrive in the Americas, and the first expedition to what is not the continental United states was made by the Spaniard, Juan Ponce de León who is known to have explored Florida in 1513.

As the Americas were gradually explored, a variety of European countries including Denmark, France, Great Britain, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain and Sweden, began to establish permanent colonies in the New World. In North America, the most successful of these was Great Britain, which by the end of the Seven Years War (known in the US as the "French and Indian War") had conquered most of the French territory in North America.

However, with the removal of the French military threat, disputes began to arise between Great Britain and her colonists over issues like taxation. These disputes eventually culiminated in American Revolution (1775 to 1783) which resulted in the formation of the United States from 13 former British colonies which had won their independence in the Revolutionary War.

Additional lands were gradually acquired by the US from France, Spain, the United Kingdom and Mexico, and within a century, the United States stretched across the entire North American continent. In 1867, Alaska was purchased from Russia. Further terroritorial acquistions followed with the annexation of Hawaii (1898), and following the Spanish-American war, of Puerto Rico. The final major addition to the US was the purchase of the Virgin Islands from Denmark in 1917.

The US has not been without difficulties during its history, the most noteable of these being the American Civil War (1861 to 1865) which was fought over the issues of slavery and states' rights. In the American Civil War, a large (Southern) part of the country, tried (ultimately unsuccessfully) to secede from the Union in an attempt to prevent the abolition of slavery, as well as to main and increase the individual states' rights.

In the 20th century, the US participated in both World Wars, and was on the victorious side in both conflicts. Following the end of World War II, the US engaged for over 40 years in a political, economic and military conflict with the USSR, known as the Cold War.

Today, the US is the most powerful country in the world, both economically and militarily, and US cultural influences can be seen all over the world in food, music, movies and the arts. Despite this, the US is today not without challenges, most notably the threat of terrorism, which was dramatically brought to the world's attention with the terrorist attacks of September 11th 2001.

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  • Here are some books about the history of the United States:


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    History of the United States

    By Charles Austin Beard

    CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform
    Paperback (440 pages)

    History of the United States
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    Product Description:
    History of the United States is a work by Charles Austin Beard now brought to you in this new edition of the timeless classic.

    Time America: An Illustrated History

    By Editors of Time Magazine

    Time
    Hardcover (266 pages)

    Time America: An Illustrated History
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    Product Description:
    "Time" illuminates the story of America in a fascinating new way in this magnificent volume which collects the most iconic images in the nation's history. Here are indelible photographs - from the assassination of J F Kennedy to the first landing on the moon. Here are breath-taking paintings and fascinating graphics that reveal the changing face of a great nation. And here are unforgettable portraits that capture the most influential people of America's past and present. This wonderful visual tour will help you experience the rich pageant of American history in an entirely new and entirely exhilarating way.

    America The Story of Us: An Illustrated History

    By Kevin Baker

    PBS
    Paperback (412 pages)

    America The Story of Us: An Illustrated History
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    Product Description:
    America The Story of Us is a groundbreaking series that brings to life the epic story of our nation in a new way for a new generation. The companion book, America The Story of Us is a history that is at once penetrating and lively, elegant and authoritative; great for serious reading as it is for casual skimming. America The Story of Us brings to life the vast forces that shaped this remarkable country and the ways in which revolutions in technology and transportation altered the way Americans lived, made money, and fought one another. Explored in these pages is the struggle between settlers and Native Americans; the epic conflict of slavery, from cotton gin to Civil War; the creation of the transcontinental railroad alongside the thundering herds of buffalo across the West; and how American ingenuity and determination both carried us through the Great Depression and won the Second World War. Beginning with Jamestown and Plymouth Bay, the first successful British colonies on the mainland, the book highlights the landmark moments in political, social, economic, and military history, from the prototypical entrepreneur John Rolfe and his tobacco seeds to Barack Obama and the seeds of change, from the Model T to the moon landing. Written by novelist, historian, and journalist Kevin Baker (a key contributor to The American Century, by Harold Evans), the narrative shares the TV series- eye for the dramatic moment in U.S. history-there is danger, action, struggle-while adding new layers of detail and nuance. America The Story of Us is decisive and essential, the story of the country that every family will want to own.

    Foreword by President Obama

    A stunning companion piece for the most anticipated HISTORY broadcast of all time, includes 412 heavily illustrated pages featuring over 300 full color images and layers of information including “charticles,” graphics, photographs, and text.

    The adventure that became a nation – the complete history of the US has not been told for 40 years.

    AMERICA the Story of Us is an exuberant, unprecedented look at the invention of America focusing on how events small and large are intrinsically linked to the exploration and innovation, leading us from the frontier to 21st century cities, from the Mississippi to the moon, from Jamestown to 9/11 up to present day. Moving though time and space linking key events, people and locations, capturing the vast sweep of American history— bringing viewers on a journey through the forces that shaped the destiny of America.

    The Penguin History of the USA: New edition

    By Hugh Brogan

    Penguin Books
    Released: 2001-11-01
    Paperback (752 pages)

    The Penguin History of the USA: New edition
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    Product Description:
    Hugh Brogan's The Penguin History of the USA has established itself as the definitive and most readable work available on America. It brilliantly captures the dynamic events and personalities that shaped the nation's triumphant progress to global superpower: in Brogan's words, "for good and evil, a power and civilization that surpasses . . . all empires of the past." In this new edition, Brogan makes numerous revisions to earlier chapters, taking into account the most up-to-date research into American history.

    U.S. History For Dummies

    By Steve Wiegand

    For Dummies
    Paperback (408 pages)

    U.S. History For Dummies
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    Product Description:

    Now revised — the easy-to-understand guide to the story of America

    Want to better understand U.S. History? This friendly book serves as your tour guide through the important events of America's past and present, introducing you to the people who helped to shape history. From pre-Columbus to the American Revolution, from Watergate to Iraq to Barack Obama, you'll discover fascinating details that you won't find in dry history texts!

    • They're coming to America — explore early civilizations, meet Native Americans, and see how the development of the English colonies led to slavery and the American Revolution
    • From Thomas Jefferson to Abraham Lincoln — examine the contributions of great Americans as well as the discovery of gold, the birth of California, the Civil War, and Manifest Destiny

    • America grows up — be there during the conquering of the West, industrial development, and the invention of the light bulb and the telephone

    • The impact of the World Wars — understand the sweeping changes these epochal events brought to America and the rest of the world

    • The Cold War, Camelot, and Clinton — take a closer look at the Korean War and communism, the fabulous '50s, JFK, Vietnam, Nixon and Watergate, Reaganomics, and the Clinton years

    • From the '90s to now — witness the birth of the microchip, the impact of hanging chads in a presidential election, the largest terrorist attack on American soil, and the growing economic crisis

    Open the book and find:

    • Ten important events that defined American culture
    • Interesting Americans, from presidents to gangsters to sports heroes

    • How America fought to win independence from England

    • Details about all the major wars and their long-term effects

    • Insight into the roots of slavery

    • Inventions that changed life for Americans

    • The impact of the atomic bomb

    • The Bill of Rights and the Declaration of Independence

    The Official SAT Subject Tests in U.S. & World History Study Guide (Official Sat Subject Tests in U.S. History and World History)

    By The College Board

    College Board
    Released: 2006-08-08
    Paperback (224 pages)

    The Official SAT Subject Tests in U.S. & World History Study Guide (Official Sat Subject Tests in U.S. History and World History)
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    Product Description:
    The best way to practice for SAT Subject Tests™ in History

    Every year nearly 120,000 students take a SAT Subject Test in U.S. History or World History. The Official SAT Subject Tests Study Guide: For U.S. History and World History is the only source of official questions and answer explanations for these exams, and it is the only guide developed by the test maker. In addition to two full-length, previously administered practice tests in each subject, the guide also contains complete solutions, answer explanations and test-taking strategies.

    The Oxford Companion to United States History (Oxford Companions)

    Oxford University Press, USA
    Hardcover (984 pages)

    The Oxford Companion to United States History (Oxford Companions)
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    • United States History
    Product Description:
    Here is a volume that is as big and as varied as the nation it portrays. With over 1,400 entries written by some 900 historians and other scholars, it illuminates not only America's political, diplomatic, and military history, but also social, cultural, and intellectual trends; science, technology, and medicine; the arts; and religion.
    Here are the familiar political heroes, from George Washington and Benjamin Franklin, to Abraham Lincoln, Woodrow Wilson, and Franklin D. Roosevelt. But here, too, are scientists, writers, radicals, sports figures, and religious leaders, with incisive portraits of such varied individuals as Thomas Edison and Eli Whitney, Babe Ruth and Muhammed Ali, Black Elk and Crazy Horse, Margaret Fuller, Emma Goldman, and Marian Anderson, even Al Capone and Jesse James. The Companion illuminates events that have shaped the nation (the Great Awakening, Bunker Hill, Wounded Knee, the Vietnam War); major Supreme Court decisions (Marbury v. Madison, Roe v. Wade); landmark legislation (the Fugitive Slave Law, the Pure Food and Drug Act); social movements (Suffrage, Civil Rights); influential books (The Jungle, Uncle Tom's Cabin); ideologies (conservatism, liberalism, Social Darwinism); even natural disasters and iconic sites (the Chicago Fire, the Johnstown Flood, Niagara Falls, the Lincoln Memorial). Here too is the nation's social and cultural history, from Films, Football, and the 4-H Club, to Immigration, Courtship and Dating, Marriage and Divorce, and Death and Dying. Extensive multi-part entries cover such key topics as the Civil War, Indian History and Culture, Slavery, and the Federal Government.
    A new volume for a new century, The Oxford Companion to United States History covers everything from Jamestown and the Puritans to the Human Genome Project and the Internet--from Columbus to Clinton. Written in clear, graceful prose for researchers, browsers, and general readers alike, this is the volume that addresses the totality of the American experience, its triumphs and heroes as well as its tragedies and darker moments.

    United States Coloring Book (Dover History Coloring Book)

    By Winky Adam

    Dover Publications
    Paperback (56 pages)

    United States Coloring Book (Dover History Coloring Book)
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    Product Description:
    Entertaining book brims with information about each of the 50 states. Captions beneath each illustration identify state's nickname, motto, flower, bird, tree, capital, main rivers, mountains, and other facts. An excellent educational resource for use at home or in school.

    A History of Christianity in the United States and Canada

    By Mark A. Noll

    Eerdmans Pub Co
    Paperback (592 pages)

    A History of Christianity in the United States and Canada
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    • ISBN13: 9780802806512
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    Product Description:
    Author Mark Noll presents the unfolding drama of American Christianity with accuracy and skill, from the first European settlements to ecumenism in the late 20th Century. This work has become a standard in the field of North American religious history.

    Made in America: An Informal History of the English Language in the United States

    By Bill Bryson

    William Morrow Paperbacks
    Released: 2001-10-23
    Paperback (432 pages)

    Made in America: An Informal History of the English Language in the United States
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    Product Description:
    Bill Bryson, who gave glorious voice to The Mother Tongue, now celebrates her magnificent offspring in the book that reveals once and for all how a dusty western hamlet with neither woods nor holly came to be known as Hollywood...and exactly why Mr. Yankee Doodle call his befeathered cap "Macaroni."

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