How Historical Events Made Modern America - Essay Example

The United Nations of America has viewed a lot number of critically important events all through its history. The importance of these events becomes more evident as these have influenced the formulation of America as a country of glory. The culture of America also has had substantial influence of these historical events. The first ever recorded inhabitancy in the land of America was almost before 10,000 and 30,000 years (Kidport, 2009). The people who came into the country during this period were the Asians. They came in through a land bridge which then joined North America and Asia. The historians assume that this group of people would have been guiding the buffalo herds or wooly mammoths resultantly reached and then settled in Northern America. These populations later spread all through Canada and the United States. In continuation to this initial inhabitation America became the home for a number of tribes. They got evolved to the conditions living in the mountainous regions and also the plains. The turning point in the history of America happened as Christopher Columbus; the Italian Sailor in the year 1492 explored and thus exposed the land of America to the whole world. It was his belief that the world was round that prompted him to sail westward to reach the eastern spine lands (Enchanted Learning, 2009). He landed on a small island in the Bahamas thinking that he had reached the Spice Islands near India. It was on this belief that he named the island San Salvador and called the inhabitants as Indians. It was for long times believed that what Columbus discovered was a shorter route to East Indies. However, it was belief which later led to the exposure of America to the world. This discovery paved way later for the European exploration. Having heard on Columbus’ discovery of the Western route to the East Indies the European countries holding high interest in silk and spices started to send explorers to America (Kidport, 2009) The probability of achieving highly tradable resources like gold, spices, silver, silk and others made the land of high interest for the European countries. However other political reasons like colonization also were encouraging factors for the Europeans. Some of the great explorers which America saw all across the period extending from 1492 to 1609 were Amerigo Vespucci, Ferdinand Magellan, Juan Ponce de Leon, Vasco de Balboa, Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo, Samuel de Champlain and Henry Hudson (Kidport, 2009) This higher count of exploration later confirmed that what Christopher Columbus discovered was not a short route to East Indies, but continent of North America. The Native Americans initially established good relationships with the Europeans and they helped them with the exploration process of corn, potatoes and other vegetables. Another important commodity which the Natives introduced to the Europeans was tobacco. The Native Americans in turn became acquainted with horses and guns. Gradually the Native Americans saw their dominance perish as they were heavily affected by deadly diseases like measles and smallpox (Kidport, 2009) Another remarkable incident in the history of America is the arrival of pilgrims and their first thanks giving. It was on December 11, 1620 that the pilgrims in the ship named Mayflower reached the American land. After they have had farming and the fist harvest they arranged a feast in the Plymouth Harbor in 1621 (Kidport, 2009) This event came to be known as the “First Thanks Giving”. The turning point in the history of the United States of America happened later in 1580s. In the beginning of 1580’s Sir Walter Raleigh was given authority by Queen Elizabeth I of England to establish British colonies in North America. Though the British failed to colonize America in the first two trials, their efforts became successful the third time in the year 1587. As a part of this colonization the land was titled Virginia, in praise of Queen Elizabeth 1. The name came after the reality that the queen was a virgin as she never married. However, the British lost power over America in 1591 as Governor John White went to England to refill supplies. The British there after refer to the land as “The Lost Colony”. However, the British never stopped their trials to explore America. The Virginia Company of London which was established by King James in 1906, by the intention of finding gold in America failed desperately. But the gradual growth of settlers in Virginia ultimately could claim self governance in 1619 and ultimately gained power. This served as a foundation for the colonization process and eventually the British established thirteen colonies in America namely Massachusetts , New Hampshire ,Rhode Island , New York , Connecticut , New Jersey , Pennsylvania , Delaware , Maryland , Virginia , North Carolina , South Carolina and Georgia (Kidport, 2009) The next major event in the history of the United Sates of America happened in the 1750s. In the discussed period of time France and Britain were having war based in Europe. This battle gradually spread to North America. The British settlers in America were fighting foe attaining power over the French colonized land in America. The intention of the battle was commercial interests of conquering the commerce being done in the French occupied American land. The Frenchmen were supported by the Native Americans who fought along with the French soldiers to defeat British dominancy. The natives had the fear of England establishing reign over their land. The war extended till 1759 making remarkable impact in the American history. The war was called off after James Wolfe, the then British Major General established power over Quebec. Later this led to a peace treaty through which England colonized most of the land previously occupied by the Frenchmen. This treaty was signed in the year 1763. However, the British thereafter attained the officiating power and started levying taxes from the colonists. The missions of California which extended from 1769 to 1834 played vital roles in the developmental history of America (CMRC, 2007).The Franciscans moved into California with the intention of converting native tribes into Christians. They taught the natives Spanish making them ready for a cultured Spanish life and actively preached Christianity to them. Another crucial impact that the Franciscans made was that they trained the local people many skills of developmental interest which included construction, cattle rearing and waving. This is the era which viewed a sort of structuring of the American society. The missions led to the capacity building of the natives and their establishment as civilized societies. The missionaries kept moving across regions spreading Christianity and simultaneously promoting development. The missions could thus generate considerate income and structured societies were created. However, the end of the mission period saw the nationalization of the developmental process. In the year 1813, the regulation over the missions was handed over to the local authorities. This the era of missions which in other terms was the age of American primary development ended up in the secularization of the resources produced by the missions (Kidport, 2009) The most critical determinant factor in the American history had been the American Revolution. It was this revolutionary war which in real terms constituted the United States of America. There had been a series of events which constituted the American Revolution. These included The Quest for Independence, The Boston Massacre, The Gaspee Incident, The Boston Tea Party, The First Continental Congress, The Second Continental Congress, The Declaration of Independence, Battles of the Revolution, The French Alliance Articles of Confederation and The Treaty of Paris (American Revolution, 2006). By the year 1776, the population of America grew to more than half of that of Britain. This factor along with the spurt of development made the Americans urge for Independence. This quest was triggered by the tax reforms made by the British and the lack of representation of the natives in the governmental system. This led to a series of wars and revolts. All of these ended up in signing the Treaty of Paris on September 3, 1782 (American Revolution, 2006) The treaty officially recognized the existence of America as an independent nation. All the troops of Britain were removed from America. The borders of the nation were officiated. The debts owed to Britain were paid off and thus United Nations of America emerged to be an independent nation. Many historical events happened in the post independent era of the United States ultimately making it one of the supreme powers in the world. The Louisiana Purchase in 1803, marked the development of the country as a prime economic power. The Britain had to recognize America as a country with its own integrity after the War of 1912 and USA resultantly proved its military supremacy to the whole world. The Californian Gold Rush which extended from 1848 to 1859 evolved to be an important happening in the US history. A black mark in the nations’ history was the Civil war in the period 1860 to 1865. Later came in the Mexican war which extended for two years starting in 1846 which resulted in the consensus with Mexico with regard to the borders that the two countries shared. The country also strived across two world wars. The great depression also has had substantial impact on the American history (Kidport, 2009) A series of events of the past has made America the way it is today. These events have substantially influenced the culture, economy and the societal status of the nation. From a much exploited colony, the country has grown to have the fame of being world’s first universal nation (Hayworth, John D & Eule, Joe, 2006). The nation has grown as a paradise for the immigrants. Lippman Lorna (1983) have evaluated the history of American immigration and has confirmed its policies to be one of the best in the world. From stages of war and independency, the country has grown as a supreme power in the world. The way the United Nations of America is constituted today, much has the history linked with the nation to do with it. Thus it is corroborated that history has played vital role in creating the United Nations of America as a resourceful nation. References Hayworth, John D; Eule, Joe. "Extract" in Whatever It Takes : Illegal Immigration, Border Security, and the War on Terror , Hayworth, John D & Eule, Joe , 2006 a, 5-15 . Lippman, Lorna. "History of Immigration" in A Nation Apart: Essays in Honour of Andrew Fabinyi: Personal Views of Australia in the Eighties , McLaren, John , 1983 , 114-126, 246-248 Kidport, 2009, ‘History of the United States’, Viewed 20 April 2009, http://www.kidport.com/RefLib/USaHistory/UsaHistoryIndex.htm Enchanted Learning, 2009, ‘Christopher Columbus: Explorer’, Enchanted Learn, Viewed 20 April 2009, http://www.enchantedlearning.com/explorers/page/c/columbus.shtml CMRC, 2007, California Missions Timeline, California Missions Resource Centre, Viewed 20 April 2009, http://www.missionscalifornia.com/missions_timeline.html American Revolution, 2006, ‘American Revolution: The complete History, American Revolution, Viewed 20 April 2009, http://www.americanrevolution.com/ Read More