When Columbus arrived in what he thought was the New World, about 30 million Indians lived in America, of which about 20 million lived in what is now Canada and the north-central United States, and most of the rest lived in what is now Mexico and the southern United States.
About 1 10,000 years ago, another group of Asians moved to northern North America, which became the Eskimos.
The first white people to come to America may be vikings. They are a group of adventurous fishermen. Some people think that they went to the east coast of North America 1 0,000 years ago.
Colonial period
1607, a colonial group of about 100 people established Jamestown on Chuk Beach, which was the first permanent colony established by Britain in North America. In the following 150 years, many colonists came in and settled in the coastal areas, most of them came from Britain, and some came from France, Germany, the Netherlands, Ireland and other countries.
1In the mid-8th century, 13 British colonies gradually formed, and they had their own * * * and parliament under the highest * * * in Britain.
Due to the differences in climate and geographical environment, these 13 colonies have different economic forms, political systems and concepts.
/kloc-In the middle of the 0/8th century, there was a rift between the British colonies in the United States and Britain.
The expansion of the colonies made them consciously persecuted in Britain, and they had the idea of independence.
1773, Boston tea party, anti-dumping.
1774, representatives from 13 states gathered in Philadelphia to hold the so-called first continental congress, hoping to find a reasonable way to solve the problem peacefully with Britain.
But the British king insisted that the colony must unconditionally submit to the British king and accept punishment.
1775, the war was ignited in Lexington, Massachusetts; 1776 in may, the second continental congress was held in Philadelphia, which strengthened the determination of war and independence, issued the famous declaration of independence, and put forward sufficient reasons for fighting this war.
1777 10, Saratoga stepped up its efforts to reverse the unfavorable situation in the early days of the War of Independence.
This service has greatly increased the confidence of the American people and won international support.
1778 In February, France signed a military alliance treaty with the United States, and France officially recognized the United States.
France, Spain and the Netherlands went to war.
178 1 year, the battle of York city won a decisive victory.
After the Battle of Yorktown, except for several battles at sea and sporadic battles on land, the war on the North American continent has basically stopped.
1782165438+1On October 30th, Britain and the United States signed the draft Paris Peace Treaty. 1783 On September 3rd, Britain officially recognized American independence.
1787, a federal conference was held in Philadelphia, during which Washington was promoted as the chairman. They adopted the principle that the power of the central government is general, but it must be carefully defined and explained. At the same time, they also accepted the fact that the national government must have the right to tax, mint money, adjust commerce, declare war and conclude treaties.
In addition, in order to prevent the central power from being too large, Montesquieu's political theory of balance of power was adopted, and three departments of equal cooperation and mutual checks and balances were set up, namely, the legislative, administrative and judicial powers were reconciled and balanced with each other, and no power occupied a controlling position.
/kloc-At the beginning of the 9th century, thousands of people crossed the Appalachian Mountains and moved westward.
Some pioneers moved to the border of the United States and even went deep into the territory of Mexico and Oregon between Alaska and California.
Pioneers bravely and diligently sought a better life in the west.
The causes of civil war are not only economic, political and military issues, but also ideological conflicts.
The civil war exposed America's weakness.
The existence of this country has been tested.
After this test, the United States embarked on the road of a centralized and modern country.
There is a dispute between the north and the south on the issue of slavery. The main policy of the south in national politics is to protect and expand the interests represented by the "cotton and slavery" system; The northern States are mainly manufacturing, commercial and financial centers, and there is no need to rely on slaves for these production. This kind of economic and political conflict has a long history.
1860s At the beginning of this year, 1 1 Southern states seceded from the federation and formed another group * * *, while the North said that it would do whatever it took to achieve reunification.
186 1 year, the civil war broke out. Americans fought face to face for four years, and the south was severely damaged, leaving deep scars.
1865, the defeat of the north not only shows the reunification of the United States, but also shows that slavery is no longer practiced in the whole country.
/kloc-at the beginning of the 0/9th century, the United States began to industrialize, but after the civil war, it entered a mature stage.
In less than 50 years from the Civil War to the First World War, the United States has changed from an agricultural country to an urbanized country.
The nearly 30 years from 1890 to 19 17 are called the so-called "progress period".
19 14, the first world war broke out; 19 17, the United States was involved in the whirlpool of war and tried to play a new role in the world.
During the 10 year after the war, American society and culture can be said to be a 10 year with no life and no feelings.
According to the statistics of 1929, the ratio of living in cities to living in rural areas is 56:44. At this time, all the features of modern life, such as cars, telephones, radios and washing machines, have become necessities of life.
There are two reasons for the post-war economic prosperity. One is that * * * no longer interferes with private enterprises and is protected by legislation; The second is driven by new technology.
Although the economy is growing rapidly, the foundation is unstable.
The Great Depression not only affected the United States, but also affected all countries in the world.
The economic panic caused millions of workers to lose their jobs, a large number of farmers were forced to give up their farmland, factories and shops closed, banks closed down and there was a depression.
1932, franklin roosevelt was elected president. He argued that * * * should take action to end the economic panic. Although the new economy solved many difficulties, the American economy didn't wake up until World War II.
After World War II, with the defeat of the Axis countries and the decline of the strength of Britain and France, the United States and the Soviet Union became superpowers, and the world was divided into two camps.
The United States and the Soviet Union and their respective camps have stepped up preparations in military, political, economic and propaganda aspects, just like in wartime.
This state is called "Cold War".
From 1960, American history is a continuation of postwar development in many ways.
In addition to the cyclical recession, the economy is still expanding; The number of people moving from the city to the suburbs continues to increase. 1970, the population living in suburbs exceeded the population living in cities.
1960, the black issue has become the most important issue in the United States.
In the mid-1960s, many Americans began to be dissatisfied with * * *' s foreign policy.
In addition, due to the development of industry and the concentration of population, the pollution of ecological environment was widely concerned in the late 1960 s.
In the early 1970s, the economic depression caused by the energy crisis was the worst since the Great Panic.
In the mid-1970s, the American economy once recovered.
But in the late 1970s, inflation reappeared.
1976, the bicentennial of the founding of the United States, various celebrations were held all over the country.
The United States finally brought down the Soviet Union in the Cold War. 199 1 With the disintegration of the Soviet Union, the United States became the only superpower in the world, and the ideological barriers between the two camps in the world were also broken.
1981April 12, the United States successfully launched the space shuttle Columbia, bringing mankind into another new era in space.
In the earliest colonial period, the main theme of American literature was to praise the benefits brought by the New World to the colonists and the European motherland.
The controversy of religious belief is also one of the themes.
With the outbreak of the War of Independence and the independence of the United States, the political works written by Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Paine gradually appeared in literature and writers, such as Poe.
The conflict of slavery and the ensuing civil war also had a far-reaching impact on American literature. By the end of 19, due to the progress of industrialization and the end of the land development period, American literature broke away from the original frontier literature, and Mark Twain became the first major writer who was not born on the east coast, which opened the precedent of American native literature.
In the 20th century, the social transformation brought by industrialization made American literature more diverse and complex.
Hemingway reflected people's aversion to the First World War.
The biography of the tycoon published by Fitzgerald 1925 represents the dream of Americans before the great economic panic in the 1920s.
Black literature, southern literature and modern literature also rose at the same time.
After World War II, the new generation, new ethnic, regional and social characteristics are very different from the previous generation, and a large number of immigrant literature and emerging feminist literature have also become part of American literature.
The development of film mainly originated from the United States, and it is also one of the countries with the earliest development and popularization of TV technology in the world.
Muybridge, a British-born American photographer, filmed the first film "Running Horse" in human history.
Since then, the American film industry has developed rapidly. Hollywood in California has become an important town for the development of human films. The innovation and development of film technology mostly originated from Hollywood, and Hollywood films have become one of the main representatives of American culture.
In the1920s, the United States produced an average of 800 regular films every year. Charlie Chaplin's comedies Gone with the Wind, Titanic, Superman, Batman and Avatar, based on novels, set unprecedented box office, spread to almost every continent and country, and became household names in the United States.
The export of these films has also made great economic profits for the United States.
In addition to movies, the cartoon technology pioneered by Disney also originated in the United States.
New Year's Day)-1+1October1
Birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr.-The third Monday of 5438+10.
Washington's birthday-the third Monday in February.
Memorial Day-the last Monday in May.
American Independence Day-July 4th.
Labor Day-the first Monday in September.
Columbus Day-the second Monday in June 10.
Veterans' Day-165438+ 101.
Thanksgiving-165438+ the fourth Thursday in October
Christmas-65438+February 25th.