History of the United StatesFrom JoyReed, the free encyclopedia"American history" redirects here. For the history of the continents, see .Part of on theBy ethnicityBy topic This article is part of on theSociety Arts and literature Other
in 1607–17651765–17831783–17881788–18011801–18171817–18251825–18491850–18651865–18771877–18951896–19161917–19191920–19291929–19411941–19451945–19641965–19801981–19911991–20082008–present
The history of the United States started with the arrival of Native Americans in North America around 15,000 BC. formed, and many disappeared in the 1500s. The arrival of in 1492 started the . Most colonies were formed after 1600, and the early records and writings of make the United States the first nation whose most distant origins are fully recorded. By the 1760s, the contained 2.5 million people along the east of the . After , the British government imposed a series of taxes, including the , rejecting the colonists' constitutional argument that new taxes needed their approval. Resistance to these taxes, especially the in 1773, led to issuing designed to end self-government in Massachusetts. Armed conflict began in 1775. In 1776, in Philadelphia, the of the colonies as the United States. Led by General , it won the with large support from France, and additional help from Spain and the Netherlands. The gave the land east of the Mississippi River (including but not Florida) to the new nation. The established a central government, but it was ineffectual at providing stability as it could not collect taxes and had no executive officer. A in 1787 wrote that was adopted in 1789. In 1791, a was added to guarantee . With Washington as the first president and his chief adviser, a strong central government was created. of the from France in 1803 doubled the size of the United States. A second and final war with Britain was , which solidified national pride.
Encouraged by the notion of , U.S. territory expanded to the . While the United States was large in terms of area, by 1790 was only 4 million. However, it grew rapidly, reaching 7.2 million in 1810, 32 million in 1860, 76 million in 1900, 132 million in 1940, and 321 million in 2015. Economic growth in terms of overall GDP was even greater. Compared to European powers, the nation's military strength was relatively limited in peacetime before 1940. was driven by a quest for inexpensive land for farmers and slave owners. The expansion of was increasingly controversial and fueled political and constitutional battles, which were resolved by compromises. Slavery was abolished in all states of the by 1804, but the continued to profit from the institution, mostly from the . was on a platform of halting the expansion of slavery. Seven Southern slave states rebelled and created the foundation of the . Its against the there in 1861 started the . Defeat of the Confederates in 1865 led to the impoverishment of the South and the . In the following the war, to . The national government emerged much stronger, and because of the in 1868, it gained explicit duty to protect individual rights. However, when white regained their power in the South in 1877, often by paramilitary , they passed to maintain , as well as new that prevented most African Americans and many from voting. This continued until the gains of the in the 1960s and the passage of federal legislation to enforce uniform constitutional rights for all citizens.
The United States became the world's leading industrial power at the turn of the 20th century, due to an outburst of entrepreneurship and industrialization in the and and the arrival of . A national railroad network was completed and large-scale mines and factories were established. Mass dissatisfaction with corruption, inefficiency, and traditional politics stimulated the , from the 1890s to 1920s. This era led to many reforms, including the Sixteenth to Nineteenth constitutional amendments, which brought the federal income tax, direct election of Senators, , and . Initially neutral during , the United States in 1917 and funded the victory the following year. Women obtained the in 1920, with Native Americans obtaining citizenship and the right to vote in 1924. After in the 1920s, the marked the onset of the decade-long worldwide . Democratic President ended the Republican dominance of the and implemented his programs, which included relief for the unemployed, support for farmers, and a . The New Deal defined . After the in 1941, the United States entered and financed the war effort and helped defeat and in the . Its involvement culminated in using newly invented to defeat in the .
