American History Lecturer: Qin Jie 1 Aims Get to know the general history of US Get to know the specific and significant events of US history Get to know the important historical figures 2 Beginning Periods 1. Early American History 2. The War of Independence 3 Before 1492 4 5 The Earliest Inhabitants Around 20,000 years ago, a group of Asian people arrived in Central and South Americas by way of North America. These people were the ancestors of American Indians. Around 10,000 years ago, another group of Asian people came to the northern part of North America, and they were the ancestors of the later Eskimos. When Columbus found the new continent, there were about 20 million Indians living in Americas – Canada, mid-northern and the southern parts of the . , Mexico. 6 Discovery In late 15th-century Europe, there was a great demand for spices, textiles and dyes from Asia. Christopher Columbus, a mariner from Italy believed that he could reach the Far East by sailing from Europe. In 1492, Columbus persuaded the queen of Spain to finance his voyage to Asia, but he reached America at last, and he called the native people “Indians.” The Spanish established some settlements in today’s Florida, New Mexico and California. 7 Discovery The reasons of Europeans’ coming to America (3Gs): 1. The need for increased trade; 2. The zeal of Spanish priests to convert the native Indians to Christianity; 3. The need of European religious and political dissenters for refuge from persecution in their homelands; 4. The thirst for adventure. 8 English Settlements The first essful English colony in America was founded at Jamestown, Virginia in 1607. Of the first 105 colonists, 73 died of hunger and disease within seven months of their arrival. One group of English Puritans crossed the Atlantic in the ship Mayflower and settled at Plymouth, Massachusetts in 1620. A much larger Puritan colony was established in the Boston area in 1630. 9 English Settle
