THE FOUNDATION OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
In 1777 Articles of Confederation were drawn up which joined the states into a loose federation. However the arrangement proved unsatisfactory. In 1787 each state sent delegates to a convention in Philadelphia to remedy this. Between May and September 1787 they wrote a new constitution. The first Congress met in 1789 and George Washington became the first President. In 1791 ten amendments, known as the Bill of Rights were ratified.
In the late 18th century and the early 19th century the population of the USA grew rapidly. Immigrants from Europe poured into the country including many from Germany. Meanwhile the USA expanded westward. In 1791 Vermont was admitted to the union as the 14th state. Kentucky became the 15th state in 1792 and Tennessee the 16th in 1796. In 1803 Ohio became the 17th state.
THE LOUISIANA PURCHASE
Also in 1803 American territory was greatly increased by the Louisiana purchase. France claimed a vast amount of land in central North America around the Missouri River and the Arkansas River. In 1803 Napoleon agreed to sell the lot for $15 million. Buying the French land meant there was now no bar to the USA spreading across the continent to the Pacific Ocean. Louisiana became the 18th state of the union in 1812.
THE WAR OF 1812
Meanwhile the Americans and British fought another war. This war came about partly because, after 1807, the British navy blockaded European ports during the war with Napoleon and they prevented American ships from delivering their cargoes. They also boarded American ships looking for deserters. Some of the men they arrested were not deserters at all. Finally some Americans wished to invade Canadian territory. War was declared on 18 June 1812. The senators voted 19 to 13 for war. However not all Americans actively supported the war. Some were, at best, lukewarm in their support. This dissension weakened the American war effort. On the other hand American sailors were all volunteers while many sailors in the British navy were forced to join by press gangs. Volunteers were, generally, better than pressed men, one reason why America did well in naval battles.
However an American attempt to invade Canada failed. However the American navy had more success. They won a victory on Lake Erie in September 1813. However Napoleon abdicated in April 1814 allowing the British to send more forces to North America. In August 1814 a British expedition landed and captured Washington. They withdrew after a few weeks. A peace treaty was signed at the end of 1814. However a major battle was fought after it was signed. The British were severely defeated at the Battle of New Orleans on 8 January 1815.
THE INDIAN WARS
As the USA expanded westward there were many wars with the Indians. In 1790 Chief Little Turtle of the Miami defeated an American force under Josiah Harmar. The next year the Americans were defeated again. However in 1794 American troops decisively defeated the natives at the Battle of Fallen Timbers. By the treaty of Greenville, 1795, the natives were forced to cede most of Ohio to the Americans.
During the war of 1812 some natives sided with the British. The Creeks won a battle against the Americans at Fort Sims in 1812. However troops led by Andrew Jackson defeated the Creeks at Horseshoe Bend in 1814. The Treaty of Fort Jackson forced the Creeks to cede more than half their land to the Americans. (It later became the state of Alabama).
Andrew Jackson later became President and in 1830 he signed the Indian Removal Bill which forced Indians east of the Mississippi River to move to Oklahoma.
The Choctaws were forced to move in 1832. They were followed by the Creeks in 1835 and the Chickasaw in 1837. The Cherokee's were forced to move in 1838-39. (So many of them died on the trail it was called the 'Trail of Tears'). However one tribe, the Seminoles of Florida, resisted deportation. In the years 1835-1842 they fought a guerrilla war against the Americans. This was the Second Seminole War. However in 1837 their leader, Osceola, was captured. Most of the Seminoles eventually surrendered and were forced to move to Oklahoma but several hundred escaped and fought another war in 1855-1858. This was the Third Seminole War.
In the 1850s the USA also fought wars with the natives of the Northwest. The natives were defeated in the Rogue River War of 1855-56 and the Yakima War of 1855-58. Afterwards they were forced onto reservations.
PART THREE THE RISE OF THE USA
In the late 19th century the population of the USA grew very rapidly. In 1860 the population was 31 million. By 1900 it was almost 76 million. Immigrants from Europe poured into the USA hoping for a better life. Many people were lured by the Homesteader Act of 1862. Settlers were offered 160 acres of land free provided they agreed to till it for 5 years. (However Chinese immigration into the USA was ended by the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882).
American industry also boomed. In the late 19th century the USA was the fastest growing industrial nation in the world. By the end of the century it had surpassed Britain in production of iron and steel. The American railroad network also grew rapidly. In 1850 there were 9,000 miles of railways. By 1900 there were 190,000 miles. The first transcontinental railroad was built in 1869.
Meanwhile, in 1859, Edwin Drake (1819-1899) struck oil in Pennsylvania. Soon there was a flourishing oil industry in Pennsylvania. The first oil pipeline was built in 1865.
In 1874 Levi Strauss began making riveted jeans.
An increasing number of Americans lived in cities. By 1900 almost 1/3 of them did. by then there were more than 40 cities with a population of over 100,000. (It wasn't until 1920 that the majority of Americans lived in cities). Conditions in the industrial cities were often appalling. Many people lived in overcrowded slums.
Meanwhile American agriculture continued to boom. It was helped by new technology. Cyrus McCormick invented a mechanical reaper in 1834. John Deere (1804-1886) invented the steel plow in 1838. In 1854 the first successful self-governing windmill (that changed direction automatically to face the wind) was made. In 1874 barbed wire was patented.
PART FOUR THE MODERN USA
THE TRUMAN DOCTRINE
After World War II the USA was by far the richest and most powerful nation in the world. However relations between the USA and the Soviet Union quickly cooled after 1945. By 1947 the Cold War had begun.
In 1946 the British were helping the Greek government fight communist guerrillas. However Britain was exhausted after World War II and could not continue. On 12 March 1947 Truman announced that the USA must 'support free peoples who are resisting attempted subjugation by armed minorities or by outside pressures.' Truman hoped the aid would be primarily financial. The USA gave money to both Greece and Turkey. The USA also provided massive aid for Europe, which was devastated by war. The aid given was called the Marshall Plan after Secretary of State George C. Marshall who first proposed aid for Europe in June 1947. The aid was given in 1948-1951 and it greatly assisted European recovery. However in 1950 the USA was drawn into the Korean War.
THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT IN THE USA
The struggle for civil rights really began in the 1950s. In the south at that time schools were segregated. In 1896 the Supreme Court ruled that segregation was constitutional as long as equal facilities were provided for both groups. In reality, of course, facilities for black people were always inferior. In the south most black people did not register to vote. In 1957 and 1960 Civil Rights Acts were passed to try and remove obstacles to them doing so. Neither was very successful.
In 1964 Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act, which gave all people equal rights in voting, education, public accommodation and federally assisted programs.
However in 1965 black anger and resentment boiled over into rioting. Riots in Los Angeles left 34 people dead. More riots followed in 1966 and in 1967. On 4 April 1968 the great orator Martin Luther King was assassinated. His death provoked further riots.
THE USA IN THE 21ST CENTURY
In the late 20th century the population of the USA grew very rapidly, partly due to immigration. Today the population of the USA is 316 million.The USA suffered a recession in 2008-2009 but it soon recovered and it remains a very wealthy country.
Meanwhile in 2008 Barack H. Obama was elected the first African American president of the USA.
The Foundation of Washington DC
Washington DC was founded to be the capital of the United States. The first European to explore the area was Englishman John Smith in 1608. Later in the 17th century settlers created tobacco plantations worked by black slaves. The town of Alexandria was founded in 1749 and the town of Georgetown was established in 1751. Both flourished. After the War of Independence (1775-83) the federal government decided to create a capital. The constitution, which was ratified in 1788 allowed for a federal territory to be created not more than 10 square miles in size. The site of Washington was chosen in 1790 after some wrangling.
In 1791 George Washington obtained land in Virginia and Maryland. Congress decided the new city would be called Washington and it would be in the territory (later district) of Columbia. The same year, 1791 a French architect called Pierre L'Enfant (1754-1825) drew up a plan for the new capital.
In 1792 work began on building the President's House (later the White House). Many of the people who worked on building the new capital were slaves.
Progress was slow but the US government moved to Washington in 1800. In 1802 Robert Brent was appointed the first mayor of Washington. However by the time war began with Britain in 1812 Washington DC was still taking shape. In August 1814 the British burned many of the public buildings in the town.
What is ‘Hollywood’?
Hollywood was established in 1853, with a single adobe hut on land outside Los Angeles, California. Growing crops was so successful there that by 1870, Hollywood became a thriving agricultural community.
The first thing we need to understand is the name ‘Hollywood’ and where it is. It is, admittedly, a very generic name. Just like there are lots of places named ‘Springfield’ or ‘Townsville’ or ‘Harrison’ (maybe), there are lots of places in the United States named ‘Hollywood’. Don’t believe me? Go look at a map. In America alone, there’s at least a dozen towns named ‘Hollywood’ and three places named ‘Hollywood’ in Great Britain and the Republic of Ireland. But when most people say ‘Hollywood’, we all know the one they’re talking about.
Oscar
The first Academy Awards presentation took place in Hollywood at the Blossom Room of the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, located on Hollywood Boulevard. Granted by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the first Academy Merit awards were given on May 16, 1929 to Wings, for what was originally called "Best Production," and Sunrise, for "Best Picture."
The other two awards of merit given that first year were to Emil Jannings for his roles in The Last Command and The Way of All Flesh, for "Best Leading Actor," and to Janet Gaynor for her roles in Seventh Heaven, Street Angel, and Sunrise, for "Best Leading Actress."
Nicknamed "Oscar*," the gold-plated, britannium statuettes on a marble base, standing 13.5 inches high and weighing 8.5 pounds, are currently presented at the Academy Awards ceremony in the Kodak Theatre, which opened in 2001, on the site where the historic Hollywood Hotel once stood.
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