COLONIAL AMERICA REVIEW

What we call the United States today started off as 13 colonies belonging to Great Britain. The first settlement (1607) was called Jamestown and was located in Virginia. Before long there were several more colonies along America’s east coast.

Before long, other groups came to live in America as well. One of the most well-known was Plymouth, Massachusetts, settled by the Pilgrims. Massachusetts Bay Colony, settled by the Puritans was another prominent colony The Pilgrims & Puritans came to America because they wanted religious freedom, and built a community based on trade, hard-work, and the principles found in the Bible. Before long, other groups came to live in America as well.

America became a source of much wealth for England, especially the South, which provided crops like tobacco, cotton, rice, and indigo. Harvesting these crops required a large work-force, so thousands of slaves were brought over from Africa and forced to work on the Southern plantations.

Colonists in America were mostly farmers who grew enough food to support their families. They were mostly Protestant Christians, though what church they were part of depended on where they lived.

Many colonies developed legislatures, where free men could vote on local issues. The first of these legislatures was the House of Burgesses, created in Jamestown in 1619. Although still part of the British Empire, Americans soon became used to doing their own thing, without too many restrictions from England.

But then came The French & Indian War, in which England defeated France and gained land in Canada and East of the Mississippi River. After the war, England became more involved in life in the American colonies. They restricted settling out West (to avoid conflict with the Indians). They raised taxes in the colonies to help pay for the costs of the recent war. The American colonists began to feel like the government officials back in England didn’t understand their needs or represent their interests. Eventually, these conflicts with the English led American leaders to decide to break away.

Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence, which all the colonies signed off on. The resulting war between England and America was called The American Revolution. After 7 years of conflict, the colonies gained their independence and The United States of America was born.