Justin Ma 9/24/12 P.

Birth of a Country Through multiple trials and challenges, our nation was able to triumph over all adversity to become its own self-sufficient country. Our nation matured through countless social, political, and economical changes, it endured the harsh and tyrannical rule of the British Empire to achieve independence, and it was finally able to overcome all challenges in establishing a functional government. Our nation was shaped by its own ambition to be one of, and for the people. In the beginning, before any concept of an independent nation was fathomable by the settlers, the settlers had to first adapt socially with their new environment to survive. It was necessary for them to make contact and communicate with the Native Americans, the indigenous people of the Americas, like the Hopewell and Missippian tribes. Early English settlers, like those of Jamestown, often were low on rations and materials by the time they landed. Jamestown and other early settlements were mostly funded by joint-stock companies, who invested in the settlements in hopes of a new, favorable business. However, as time passed, support from both sides diminished, and the joint-stock companies went bankrupt, which meant a lack of supplies for the settlers. They had no choice but to interact with the Native Americans to survive. They learned numerous agricultural and survival techniques, and adapted to the conditions of an uncivilized environment. The pilgrims who arrived in 1620 also had to face the same challenges. Relations with the Native Americans did not turn out so well, and Bacons Rebellion occurred, after settlers were fed up with the government of Virginia refused to take up military action against the natives. Because it was hard to find prospective workers in settlements, farmers began to hire indentured servants, who were immigrants from Europe that were not paid with money, but with food and shelter. This helped to increase more cultural diversity in the colonies, and also helped production of crops. As the settlements began to stabilize, colonies would be able to export its own goods for sale and barter. They established a system of triangular trade, where they would export goods to the Caribbean or Africa, who would export goods to Britain, who would do likewise to the colonies. As many slaves were imported from Africa, and brought from Europe with settlers, slave codes were put into effect. Each colony would have its own slave code, but in general, the codes would take away their rights. Socially, New England was comprised of many colonies that emphasized religious freedom, and therefore had many people of different religious beliefs. The Middle Colonies were founded with religious freedom throughout. They also had much more diversity in ethnicity than the other colonies because of the large number of immigrants from Europe they received. The Southern colonies also promoted religious tolerance. They were also populated with many farmers, with some very wealthy, and also debtors, who were given a chance to start a new life in the colonies. Politically, New England governments were often run by members of the church. They often had town meetings where everyone would gather to discuss local issues. The Middle Colonies were by certain individuals who placed their own rules into the societies. They based their laws mostly to suit the needs of their

religions. The Southern Colonies were comprised of privately and individually owned colonies where the owners were free to make any laws they wished. They made laws to ensure religious freedom. Most of the society in the south was controlled by wealthy landowners, even if there were only a few. Economically, New England gained income from mostly fishing and whaling. They also had a thriving timber industry which supported to building of ships. The Middle Colonies thrived from farming, with its most important crop being wheat. They were successful enough to be able to export wheat outside of the colonies into Europe. The Southern colonies also profited off of farming, but their cash crop was tobacco. All three colonies were based upon similar structures, but ultimately had to adapt to their surrounding environments. As time passed, the colonists eventually grew wary of British rule and sought independence. The triangular trade proved not to be enough for England, who sought more fortune. They imposed a policy of mercantilism on the colonies, restricting their trade and controlling their manufacturing in the favor of Englands interests. Around this period in time, called the Enlightenment, various ideas surfaced about human nature in relation to reason and logic. Philosophers such as Locke, Rousseau, and Montesqieu suggested ideas that were all favorable to the people: that the governments power came from the people, that everyone has certain natural rights, and that the government was composed of three types of power. These ideas helped the colonists to resist against the British government. Relations with the colonists and the British became further distraught after the French and Indian War. Though the British won against France and received many new territories, they were left with a massive debt. To the colonists surprise, the British placed the debt on them. This resulted in the introduction of many acts that tried to tax the colonists. These unpopular regulations would eventually lead to the downfall of the British. The British passed several acts, but the one that enraged colonists the most was the Stamp Act. It required stamps to be purchased and placed on most printed materials. This was the first direct tax on the colonies, and it gave birth to many protests. The act was eventually repealed. However, the British were still desperate for financial aid, and passed the Townshend Acts, which taxed glass, lead, paper, paint, and tea imported into the colonies. This deepened the growing hatred the colonist developed for the British. This hatred carried on, eventually compelling some colonists to mock and harass a British soldier. The soldier called for help, and minutes later, five colonists were killed. This was known as the Boston Massacre. The Townshend Acts were soon repealed after this. Following this, about 150 colonists captured a British ship, Gaspee, and burned it down in an act of defiance. Another similar event happened shortly after the Tea Act was passed. About 150 men boarded a ship carrying British tea, and dumped 342 chests of it out into the ocean. This event was known as the Boston Tea Party. The British retaliated, with Parliament passing the Intolerable Acts, which caused representatives from each colony to gather for a meeting called the First Continental Congress. The Revolutionary War started soon after. The Second Continental Congress met once again and appointed George Washington as general and commander in chief of the Continental Army. The colonists who did not desire fighting sent the Olive Branch Petition to King George III, who in turn declared the colonists and enemies. Thomas Paine created a pamphlet called Common Sense which was to convince the colonists of the treachery of King George III while promoting democracy and independence. Thus the Declaration of Independence was born, which was written by Thomas Jefferson on July 4, 1776, marking the start of the revolution. An important victory for the Americans was the Crossing of the Delaware, when George Washington and 2400 men were able to cross the Delaware river on Christmas night and ambush the

British. After this, the Americans won the Battle of Saratoga, which convinced the French to take the Americans side. The last major battle was in Yorktown, Virginia in 1781, where General Cornwallis surrendered to Washington along with his 8,000 troops. The war ended with the signing of the Treaty of Paris on September 3, 1783, and the colonies gained independence as the United States of America. Although the Americans had sought their independence, their work was not over yet. They still had to face the challenge of establishing a federal government. The Americans first started by introducing the Articles of Confederation. It unified the states under a single governing body, and gave limited power to a Confederation Congress. It could negotiate with other nations and declare war, but it had no authority to regulate trade or impose taxes. This lack of power led to a recession, which angered many poor farmers. This led to Shays rebellion, where Daniel Shays led many disgruntled farmers and protesters to attack the government, but they were later defeated by the state militia. The U.S.A realized a need for a stronger central government and held the Constitutional Convention in 1787 in Philadelphia. But representatives struggled over equal representation for their colonies. They later reached an agreement, the Great Compromise, in which a House of Representatives was established, which gave states a number of representatives proportional to its population, and also the Senate, which each state was able to have two representatives each. They also reached the Three-Fifths Compromise, in which five enslaved people counted as three free persons for taxation and representation. After time, they were able to come up with the Constitution, which was the basis for the national government. It introduced the separation of powers, the executive, judicial, and legislative powers, each having a specific role in the government. By popular demand, the Bill of Rights was ratified, which stated the basic rights of the people. As the government stabilized, two political parties developed, the Federalists and the Anti-Federalists, whose prominent figures were James Madison and Thomas Jefferson respectively. Basically, Federalists supported more government control, while AntiFederalists were against too strong of a federal government. Jefferson believed in democracy, the common people, while Federalists like John Jay and Alexander Hamilton believed in natural aristocracy. As Secretary of the Treasury, Hamilton was able to construct the National Bank, which lasted for 20 years. Jefferson and Madison both were against it, as they believed it took away money from the people and only benefited merchants. The Federalists, as they were in power around this time period, also passed the Alien and Sedition Acts, which imposed harsher rulings on foreign aliens and considered false, malicious writing against the government and its officials a crime. In conclusion, the United States has gone through a great ordeal to become the nation it is today. Its origins greatly affect our country today, socially, politically, and economically. The United States is a country of religious tolerance and diverse social class due to the ideas of the early settlers and the decisions of the American people. Today, we are allowed to have differing political views thanks to the Constitution and the founding of the Constitutional government. Our nations values have remained throughout the centuries, driving the people to achieve more and do better, to seek a happier, wealthier life, where poverty is minimal, the middle class is balanced, and the wealthy remain few. If not for continuous struggles of our forefathers to achieve a better life for the people, we would not even be a quarter of the country we are today.