After the American Revolution, Britain still didn’t really respect that the United States was a separate nation. They still attempted to impose certain restrictions on the United States that they had no right whatsoever to do. For example, Britain attempted to restrict trade between the United States and France. This was not Britain’s problem in any way, shape or form. In many ways, this was just Britain disrespecting the US. The War of 1812 was the United States further distinguishing themselves from Britain, and proving to the rest of the world that they could hold their own, and weren’t just a weak county. The War of 1812 is often called the Second War for American Independence, or the Second American Revolution because of this. Had Britain won this war, the United States would have been annexed back into the British Empire, and would likely have resulted in a very different world than the one we live in today.

The Americans had many problems with the British between the Revolution and the War of 1812. One of these was that the British forced American sailors into the British Royal Navy unlawfully. They would capture American ships and force the people on board to work for the British Navy. They also attempted to restrict trade with France like I previously mentioned, and also gave arms to Native Americans so that they would resist the further settlement of America by the whites.

Thomas Jefferson tried to resist these things, but he had not succeeded by the time that his term ended and James Madison took over his place as president. Men called the War Hawks were people who wanted war. They also saw that there was a high probability of being able to expand the country North into Canada (a British colony at that time) or into Florida (a Spanish colony at that time). Madison did not want to fight a war, but between the War Hawks and the disrespect from the English, war became inevitable. In June of 1812, the United States declared war on Britain.

During the majority of the War of 1812, the British were also fighting Napoleon. When Napoleon was finally defeated at the Battle of Waterloo, the British became able to focus their full attention on the Americans. The British troops were still the best in the world, and they also had the largest navy of all the nations. The moment they weren’t occupied with the French army, the British army burned down the new American Capital of Washington D.C. The White House was among many of the building burnt, but since it was made of brick, it just turned black. The White House was then painted white, and that is how it got its name. Even though the British burned part of the city, it still flew American colors. The Star Spangled Banner was actually written by an American prisoner on a British Ship during the burning of Washington D.C., and it later became the national anthem of the Untied States.

Only a few more battles occurred before the Treaty of Ghent. The treaty returned everything to the way it was before, except that Britain now respected the Americans much more than before, and committed fewer illegal acts against the Americans. The War of 1812 firmly established the United States as a nation that could hold its own against other nations, and so they began to be respected as such.

Louisiana was originally a Spanish territory. It had been claimed by Spain before anybody else owned it (other than the natives of the area). A treaty was made with France during the dictatorship of Napoleon that granted the area of Louisiana to France. The city of New Orleans sat on the border between territories of the United States and those of Louisiana, and so whenever trade boats were sent down the Mississippi river, they had to stop at the French port of New Orleans. The United States offered to buy the city of New Orleans from the Napoleon. Now, you would think Napoleon would never agree to this deal, but because there was a slave rebellion in Haiti (the island that the French got most of their war finances from), Napoleon was in need of funds to continue the Napoleonic Wars. Napoleon decided that it would be profitable to attempt to sell all of Louisiana to the United States. To this the President, Thomas Jefferson, agreed. The land was sold at a dirt cheap price of three cents per acre. Remember, the French had gained it for pretty much nothing, so any money was a profit, and Napoleon wanted to make sure the deal was accepted. All of the land, in total, cost about fifteen million United States Dollars (USD). If we adjust for inflation, then it becomes the even more astounding amount of three hundred and fourty two million USD (332 million USD).

Once the land was procured and the deal was done, Thomas Jefferson decided it would be best to send a team to explore the new territory. He chose his friend, Merriwether Lewis to led the expedition into the new territories. The goal of the expedition was to attempt to discover a river that lead to the Pacific Ocean. Lewis elected to bring his old friend from when they served together in the army. His name was William Clark. They also brought 31 other volunteers on their journey. In May of 1804, The expedition set out from Wood River, Illinois. The journey was made mostly by boat. They began by traveling up the Missouri river, through what would become the State of Missouri, and from there up the what would become the borders of Nebraska and Iowa, through what would become the Dakota states, and then west through Montana. Here they reached the Rocky Mountains, and had to cross over. They then followed some other rivers down to the Pacific Ocean. In 1805 they reached their destination. The return trip followed mostly the same path as the trip there, except that around the Rocky Mountains, Lewis and Clark split up so that Clark could explore some more territory. They rejoined their groups, and made their way back to St. Louis. They arrived in the year 1806. There was only one death, and it was an unpreventable health issue.

The Louisiana Purchase more than doubled the size of the United States. Fifteen new states would eventually be made up of this territory. Lewis and Clark explored the land looking for a new waterway, and ultimately, there was none, but they did succeed in establishing friendly relations with the Indians and in making maps of the new territory.

The Bill of Rights consists of the first 10 amendments and were all passed at once. The purpose of the amendments was to refine the Constitution, and also make it possible to add to the Constitution later in the future. There are twenty-seven amendments as of October thirteenth, year 2023.

I am going to summarize the content of the amendments. The first ten are the Bill of Rights. The first amendment adds to what had been previously said about free speech, and that Congress could not make laws prohibiting it. The second amendment is the famous amendment about the right to bear arms (carry weapons). The third amendment is the opposite of the quartering act that was passed by Britain. It states that soldiers shall not be allowed in one’s house without permission of the owner. Amendment four says that unreasonable searches shall be prohibited, and that your home can only be searched if there is a warrant for you. Amendment five says you cannot be forced to answer unless in court or concerning “public danger”. Amendment six gives every American the right to a fair and “speedy” trial. Amendment seven goes as follows: “In Suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury shall be otherwise re-examined in any Court of the United States, than according to the rules of the common law.” Amendment eight says this: “Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.” Amendment nine says that there are certain rights that the law cannot deny. Amendment ten says that any powers not given to the Constitution shall be reserved to the local government”. As previously stated, those first ten amendments make up the Bill of Rights and were passed by Congress on September twenty-fifth, 1789.

Amendment eleven was passed on February seventh, 1795, and states that if an incident that needs to be taken to court occurs in any state, it shall be dealt with by that state’s local government.

Amendment twelve was passed on June 15, 1804 and it established the election system.

Amendment thirteen abolished slavery and was passed on December 6, 1865.

Amendment fourteen established citizenship and all the rules that go along with it. It was passed on July ninth, 1868.

Amendment fifteen gave people of different races the same privileges as white men. It was passed on February third, 1870.

Amendment sixteen established the income tax, and was passed in 1913. I disagree with this amendment.

Amendment seventeen established senatorial elections, that would let senators be elected to their positions. It was passed on April eighth 1913.

Amendment eighteen prohibited liquor from being manufactured, sold, and transported. It was passed January sixteenth, 1919. It was then repealed by the Twenty-First amendment on December fifth, 1933.

The nineteenth amendment gave women the right to vote. It was passed August eighteenth, 1920.

The twentieth amendment updated when the Congress would meet, when the terms of office would begin and end, and stated what would occur when a president died in office. It was passed January Twenty-Third, 1933.

Amendment twenty-one repealed amendment eighteen.

Amendment twenty-two updates rules for presidency, one of which was making it so that no president can serve more than two four-year terms. It was passed February twenty-seventh, 1951.

Amendment twenty-three moved the seat of government to Washington D.C., where it is located at this current time. This amendment was passed on March twenty-ninth, 1961.

The twenty-fourth amendment abolished poll taxes, so you didn’t have to pay to vote anymore. This was passed on January 23, 1964.

The twenty-fifth amendment revisited presidential succession, and was passed on February tenth, 1967.

The twenty-sixth amendment stated that the age at which people became allowed to vote would be eighteen. This amendment was passed on June thirtieth, 1971.

The final amendment was the twenty-seventh amendment, and it stated that a group of representatives must vote on pay raises fro Congress members.

The purpose of the amendments was to alter the Constitution without changing the actual text of the original document. The influence of the amendments was great. The many amendments changed the lives of many people, particularly slaves that were now set free. Overall, the amendments to the Constitution are one of the most important documents, and probably always will be.

The people of the British colonies were fed up with all the acts and taxes. The Intolerable Acts were the last straw. The Second Continental Congress was called to resolve this issue, and they sent a letter to King George III to request that the Intolerable Acts be repealed. King George laughed at this, and so the colonies began stockpiling weapons and training militia men for the upcoming war. The war that followed proved that the colonies could stand up for themselves and hold their own as a separate nation. The result of this war was the founding of the United States of America, which has become the largest and most powerful nation.

The British learned of the preparation of the colonists, and began to make preparations of their own to retaliate. The people of Boston knew the soldiers were aiming to attack Concord. Paul Revere rode from Boston to Lexington (on the road between Concord and Boston) to warn the colonists there to prepare. From there he rode to Concord to warn the colonists there as well. The Lexington men intercepted the British army at Lexington, forcing the British to flee, but not towards Boston. The British continued on their way to Concord following the loss at Lexington.

Concord is divided by the Concord river, which has a bridge over it called the North Bridge. The colonist militia went to the side of the river farther away, and awaited the British troops coming from Lexington. The British took the weapons on that side of the river, but when they tried to cross, the Concord men fired on them. The Concord men then chased the British back to Boston, where the Siege of Boston began. The British could not leave the town by land, but the port was still open, so they could theoretically receive reinforcements from England or other colonies; however, they did not. The British were able to win at the battle of Bunker Hill when the siege was broken, but the colonists were able to hold out for a while, proving that they could hold off the best troops in the world. The British also suffered many more losses in terms of numbers than the colonists, losing at least three times as many troops than the colonial army.

It was during this period that the Deceleration of Independence was written and signed. That winter, the colonies had several major victories in the northern colonies. The army continued a little bit into Canada, capturing Fort Ticonderoga and gaining access to artillery. After that, the colonists captured some ships, and fought their first navel battle at Valcour Island on Lake Champlain.

After these victories, the British made a comeback, capturing Philadelphia, New York, and Boston. Two more victories for the colonies followed. The next battle was The Battle of Saratoga. It was a turning point in the war because the colonies had their biggest win yet, even forcing the British to surrender. The British moved their focus to the south, winning several victories in Georgia. General Nathaniel Greene, however, was able to force the British out of the south as well. They fled to Yorktown, and, after one more defeat for the British at the Battle of Guilford Court House, the final battle in the war took place. It was between the French Navy (which had come to aid the colonies, as they were still at odds with Britain from the seven years war) and the British Navy. A decisive French victory was the result of this final battle, and the (second) Treaty of Paris was signed, stating that the United States of America was now its own country.

The American Revolutionary War was one of the most important conflicts. Not only did it become the start of the largest nation; it influenced many other colonies to attempt the same. Had there been no revolution, the United States may have always been a province of the British Empire.

The slave trade was very common before the 1800’s. It wasn’t just in America; it was also in other parts of the world. Europe and Africa were among the places heavy in slavery. The slave trade was not abolished anywhere (that had slaves in the first place) until 1807. It had a very large impact on culture, causing the entire American Civil War, as well as movements against racism.

Slavery in America began when plantations started springing up in the New World. This was when the British slave trade was created. British ships would sail from Europe to Africa, capture or buy slaves, sail to the Caribbean or North America, and then sail back to Europe by way of the gulf stream. This is how the slave trade began.

The fugitive slave act made slavery much harsher on the slaves. The Fugitive Slave Act stated that if a slave was to successfully escape from his master, then he should be captured and returned to his owner. This act was created and supported mostly by slave owners in the southern states. These were the same states that formed the Confederation during the American Civil War.

The push for abolition of slavery began in the early 1800’s. It began after freed slaves that fought for Britain during the Revolutionary War began their new lives and started publicizing the tortures of slavery. After a long time they finally abolished slavery in Britain. After a whole civil war in America over the subject of slavery, the Union finally won and, after President Lincoln passed the Emancipation Proclamation, slavery was finally abolished in the United States.

I’m going to talk about states added to the United States between 1790 and 1796. These states were as follows: Vermont, Kentucky, and Tennessee. I’ll talk about the geographical locations, as well as the origin of that state (and how it was added to the United States), as well as a few fun facts about each state.

Vermont was added to the United States in 1790. It was the first territory to become a state after the colonies separated from Britain. Vermont had actually separated from the states and was an independent republic for fourteen years prior to rejoining the Union. It used to be a part of New Hampshire, but it had a dispute with the United States and so it left to become it’s own nation. In 1790, it was decided by the government of Vermont that they would like to rejoin the United States. The United States hadn’t recognized Vermont as its own republic anyway, so the result of this whole ordeal was the separation of Vermont from New Hampshire.

At this time all the territories had the same boundaries as they do today except one. Virginia and West Virginia were still just the single state of Virginia. Kentucky borders Virginia, and it became the fifteenth state in 1792.

The sixteenth state was Tennessee. It became a part of the union in 1796. Tennessee has volunteered many soldiers in time of war, earning it the nickname of “The Volunteer State” Tennessee is located directly south of Kentucky, and borders both Carolinas and Georgia.

Three new states were added between 1790 and 1796. They were Vermont, Kentucky, and Tennessee. They each have unique histories about how they became states, Vermont in particular. I also talked a little bit about the geography of these three states. The United States, at this point in time, has sixteen of the eventual fifty states that would be under its control.