423 Years of American History in 13 Minutes
B2
America is the richest and most powerful
country in history. But America's rise
to number one was actually quite
unexpected. In fact, most of North
America was ignored for more than a
100red years after it was discovered.
Here's a map that was made right before
Christopher Columbus discovered America.
The Vikings said they had discovered an
island somewhere over here, but no one
realized that it was actually a
continent. So, Columbus believed that he
could find a trade route to Asia by
sailing west. But actually, he found
some islands in the Caribbean Sea.
Columbus didn't find the spices he was
expecting, but he still believed that he
was close to India. So, he called the
natives Indians, got some goodies, and
took them back to the king and queen of
Spain. Hey, your majesties, I just got
back from Asia. Great. Where are the
spices? Well, uh, we haven't found the
spices yet, but they've got lots and
lots of gold. Now you're talking,
Columbus. Go back. Tell them all to be
Christians and bring back that gold.
A few years before Columbus claimed the
West Indies for Spain, the Portuguese
had discovered that they could reach
Asia by sailing around Africa. So, Spain
and Portugal drew a line right down the
middle of the map. And they agreed that
all the non-Christian lands on this side
of the line would belong to Portugal and
everything on the other side would
belong to Spain. So the Portuguese
sailed to Asia and built a huge trading
empire and the Spanish got busy
conquering their half of the world. All
of the interesting parts of the Americas
were down here where there was lots of
gold, silver, and people. So that's
where the Spanish went. Actually, the
Spanish also sent an expedition into
North America in 1539, but they didn't
find gold and silver. So they mostly
ignored all these useless lands up here
in North America. The English actually
sent an explorer to North America while
the Spanish were still exploring the
islands in the Caribbean. That was 16
years before the Spanish discovered
Florida. But after that, the English
waited almost 100red years before they
tried to colonize America. England's
first colony was established at Rono,
North Carolina in 1585. But the same
year, England got busy fighting a war
with Spain, and that colony mysteriously
disappeared. So they tried again at
Jamestown, and this time it worked.
Next, the pilgrims arrived in Plymouth.
The pilgrims were strict Christians who
outlawed bad stuff like gambling and
celebrating Christmas. Soon, lots and
lots of people were coming to America,
and before long, the East Coast was
covered with British colonies.
Meanwhile, the French were busy claiming
all the land in the middle of North
America. Now, it's 1754, and it's time
for a war to figure out who really owns
what in America. New France has a
population of about 60,000 people. So,
they team up with some Indian tribes to
help them fight. That's why it's called
the French and Indian War. The British
colonies have a population of more than
a million people, and they also team up
with some Indian tribes. Who do you
think won? That's right, the British
beat the French. At the same time, there
was also a big war back in Europe. And
when it was over, it was time to redraw
the map. France gave half of Louisiana
to Spain before the war was over to make
sure Britain didn't get it. Then after
the war, France had to give the other
half of Louisiana to Britain. France
also had to give Canada to Britain. Now
Britain had lots of land in America, but
Britain had also spent lots of money on
the war. And now they needed money.
Hey colonies, you know that expensive
war we helped you win? Yeah, thanks for
the help. Sure, no problem. By the way,
we are going to start collecting lots
and lots of taxes to pay for all the
help we give you. What? You never help
us. We're the ones who are always
helping you. And how can you tax us if
we don't get to vote? The colonists
weren't happy with the new taxes. And
the disagreement turned into a fight and
from a fight into a revolution. On the
4th of July 1776, the Americans declared
their independence from Great Britain.
And that was the beginning of the United
States of America, right? Not quite. It
would be 5 more years before the
Americans won their war of independence.
And after they had won their freedom,
they had a new problem. The government
they had created was a complete mess.
The 13 colonies had essentially become
13 independent countries that were only
united in name. The new nation was
failing, and it was failing fast. So the
founding fathers wrote a new
constitution and created an entirely new
federal government that actually worked.
The new constitution became official
when nine states had ratified it. And in
1789, George Washington was elected the
first president of the United States.
But the USA was only this big and all
the land over here belonged to Spain. So
how did America get more land? Well,
over in France, a guy named Napoleon
seized power and started conquering
Europe. Napoleon also wanted to build an
empire in America. So he made a deal
with Spain that would give Louisiana
back to France. But the Americans needed
to use the Mississippi River to send
goods to and from other places. And they
were afraid of what Napoleon might do if
he controlled the river. So America
asked France to sell New Orleans to
them.
You know my plans for a great empire in
North America.
But now I must invade Britain. We can
build our empire in America after we
defeat the British. But if the Americans
discover our plans for America, they
will support Britain, which could be
fatal.
But if we sell Louisiana to the
Americans, they will be our friends
forever, and Britain will be ours. It
would be foolish to sell our largest
territory, and the Americans only want
New Orleans. Enough. I've made up my
mind. We will sell it all. the money
will fund our war with Britain.
And so America bought Louisiana for $15
million. America had just doubled in
size. And that was good because
America's population was also almost
doubling every 20 years. In those days,
the average American family had seven
children. And all those kids needed
someplace to live. So lots of Americans
moved west where there was lots and lots
of unclaimed land.
Does anyone own this land? Of course
not. Great, because now it's mine. But
these lands, my hunting grounds. That's
not proper English. You're supposed to
say these lands were my hunting grounds.
In 1819, America bought Florida from
Spain and agreed that this line right
here would be the border between the
United States and New Spain. Just 2
years later, Mexico won its independence
from Spain, and America had a new
neighbor. The northern territories of
Mexico were sparssely populated and
difficult to control. So the Mexican
government invited Americans to settle
in Texas. These settlers quickly
outnumbered the Mexicans and before long
the Texans broke free from Mexico and
created their own independent republic.
Yeehaw.
We want to join the USA. Do you have
slaves? Yes, we do. And we're proud of
it. Well, sorry. We don't need any more
slave states.
Hey guys, I'm president now and this is
ours. In 1845, the United States changed
his mind and let the Republic of Texas
join the Union. Disputes over the border
of Texas led to a war with Mexico. At
the end of the war, the United States
paid Mexico $15 million and took the
northern parts of Mexico that President
Pulk wanted. Just 5 years later, the
United States also bought another piece
of land from Mexico for $10 million.
Meanwhile, the British agreed to let the
Americans have all of the Oregon
territory below this line, as long as
the British could have everything above
the line. And so in just 50 years of
great luck and one ugly war with Mexico,
America now stretched from sea to sea.
And now there was nowhere left to
expand. Unless
Hello, Uncle Sam. I found an island in
the middle of the ocean. Can I claim it
for the US? H. We might need that for
World War II. Does anyone live there?
No, sir. Is it covered in bird
droppings? Yes, sir. Congratulations,
son. You're standing on US soil.
Actually, sir, I wouldn't call this
soil.
By the way, the Guano Island Act is
still a law. So, if you're tired of
paying way too much for rent, go find
yourself an island to occupy. Wow.
Everything is great. Right after the
Americans got California, word spread
that gold had been discovered. And lots
and lots of people rushed to California
to help dig up the gold. Up in the
Oregon territory, there was lots of free
farmland. America was thriving and there
was peace on all sides. But there was a
big problem on the inside and that was
the problem of slavery. In northern
states, slavery was illegal and many
considered it to be a great evil that
must be stopped. In the south, slavery
was an important part of the economy.
The Americans had been arguing about
slavery for decades, but everything came
to a head when Abraham Lincoln was
elected president in 1860. Many people
in the south believed that Lincoln would
abolish slavery. So most of the slave
states separated from the United States
and made their own country. That led to
a big civil war. Lots of people died.
The North won, the slaves were freed,
and the United States was united again.
I'm sorry to hear about the
assassination of President Lincoln.
Yeah, another assassin tried to kill me
on the same night, but I survived the
stabbing. That's terrible. I mean, it's
terrible that you were stabbed, but I'm
glad that you survived. By the way, the
Zar wants America to have Alaska. How
much can you pay for it? I think we can
do 5 million. Maybe 5.5 million, but not
more. How about 7 million? Uh, sure.
Great. I have approval for 7 million. We
can make the treaty tomorrow. Can we do
it tonight? I should have asked for more
money.
Great. Now America has another huge
chunk of land. Now it just needs a few
tropical islands. Hey, look at that.
Some American businessmen have taken
control of the Hawaiian Islands and
they're asking the United States to
annex them. But the president of the
United States said no. He believed that
America must be a just and law-abiding
nation that never misuses its great
power to take advantage of the weak. But
others feared that if America didn't get
involved in the affairs of Hawaii,
another great power like Germany or
Japan would come and take the islands
and use them as a base to attack America
in a future war. Should America mind its
own business or should it mind its own
interests? America's policy of staying
out of other nations conflicts was about
to be tested because something was
brewing in Cuba and it wasn't coffee.
Cuba was in the middle of a war for
independence. Almost all of Spain's
other colonies had already won their
independence from Spain after the
American and French revolutions, but
Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines
were still colonies of Spain. The Cuban
War for Independence was constantly in
American newspapers, and most Americans
sympathized with the revolutionaries. In
1898, after an American warship sank in
a mysterious explosion, the US told
Spain to leave Cuba or else. Spain
responded by declaring war on the United
States. Then the US quickly captured
Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines,
effectively bringing an end to what
remained of the Spanish Empire that
Christopher Columbus had begun. During
the SpanishAmerican War, the US also
annexed Hawaii, which was becoming an
important naval base. After the war, the
president was shot, and so the young and
energetic Theodore Roosevelt
unexpectedly became president.
Hey, Colombia. Uh, we want to build a
canal right here. Sure, just pay us $10
million.
It's a deal.
Actually, uh, we changed our mind. You
can't build a canal. What? But we made a
deal. Sorry.
Hey, Panama. Welcome to the Club of
Countries. We want to build a canal
right here. Sure. Go ahead.
While Roosevelt was president, he built
up the second largest navy in the world
and used this powerful navy to influence
global politics. The Americans finished
building the Panama Canal in 1914,
allowing the powerful US Navy to quickly
move between the Atlantic and Pacific
oceans. America had become a world
power, and World War I had just begun.
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