1. American Revolution (1775 -1783)

2. Early History Of America

3. In the late 1400s Italian explorer Christopher Columbus was credited with being the first European to discover America. (The Viking convict, Eric the Red had already found Greenland about 400 years earlier.) Columbus wasn’t even looking for ‘the new world.’ He was looking for an easier route for Europeans to get to India to trade spices.

4. Columbus landed first on the Bahamas. He called the place San Salvador
Columbus landed first on the Bahamas. He called the place San Salvador. The locals that he encountered were quite peaceful and friendly. The following are notes from his diary about them.

5. Diary
"Many of the men I have seen have scars on their bodies, and when I made signs to them to find out how this happened, they indicated that people from other nearby islands come to San Salvador to capture them; they defend themselves the best they can. I believe that people from the mainland come here to take them as slaves. They ought to make good and skilled servants, for they repeat very quickly whatever we say to them. I think they can very easily be made Christians, for they seem to have no religion. If it pleases our Lord, I will take six of them to Your Highnesses when I depart, in order that they may learn our language.“ He remarked that their lack of modern weaponry and even metal-forged swords or pikes was a tactical vulnerability, writing, "I could conquer the whole of them with 50 men, and govern them as I pleased."

6. This was the beginning of poor treatment of the Native Americans by colonists. The Native Americans were called Indians by Colombus and his men even after they realised that they were not in India…

7. ‘The Pilgrim Fathers’ sailed from Britain to North America in 1607
‘The Pilgrim Fathers’ sailed from Britain to North America in They left because the King of England made a law that you had to agree with his religious beliefs. The pilgrims wanted religious freedom.

8. Over a period of 150 years they settled in 13 different areas (colonies) along the east coast of America.

9. The colonies were regularly attacked by the natives and the French (who also had colonies in America.) Britain sent large numbers of troops to help the colonists.

10. To pay for the cost of these troops, the British imposed taxes on the colonies. As the colonists were not allowed to vote for the British parliament they refused to pay the taxes.
King James III
King of England

11. In 1773 three ships from Britain loaded with tea sailed into Boston Harbour. This tea would be much cheaper than American tea as no taxes would have to be paid on it.

12. About 1000 colonists, dressed as Native Americans, boarded the ships and threw the boxes of tea overboard. This was called the Boston Tea Party and rallied the colonists against the British rulers.

13. American infantry (blue coats)
The colonists were declared traitors by the British. The American War of Independence had begun.

14. British infantry
(red coats)
The colonists collected secret stores of guns and weapons. When the British found out they sent troops to destroy them. The colonists waited at a village of Lexington and attacked the British soldiers. The colonists lost eight men in the battle but almost 300 British were killed.

15. The 13 colonies joined together and formed a National Congress
The 13 colonies joined together and formed a National Congress. On the 4th of July the National Congress read out the Declaration of Independence, declaring that all colonies were free from British rule and that the colonists had the right to ‘life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.’

16. The colonists/Americans set up an army and it was led by George Washington. France, Holland and Spain also had colonies in America. They joined the side of the colonists.

17. The Americans defeated the British in a key battle at Yorktown and eventually the British gave in. The colonists had their freedom and set up a republic called the United States of America.

18. American Civil War
About 80 years later America had a civil war.
Some of the southern states declared themselves separate from the USA. They called themselves the confederates. The northern states called themselves the union of states.

19. Slavery
Slavery was common in the early days of USA. Black people were shipped over from various colonial parts of Africa as slaves. They had very few rights and were treated very badly. Slaves were particularly used for picking cotton, which was one of the major industries of the southern states.

21. The confederates wanted to expand slavery while the union did not
The confederates wanted to expand slavery while the union did not. The Confederates eventually surrendered. Abraham Lincoln, who went on to become president of USA is credited with abolishing slavery in USA.

22. Abraham Lincoln was assassinated by John Wilkes Booth in 1896 while sitting in a theatre.