America: History and Life Database
The first four hundred years of the United States’ history are one of the most fascinating aspects of the country’s history. The founding fathers’ wisdom and the virtues of the American ancestors are often credited with establishing a liberal democratic society. But America’s history is also filled with brutality and cruelty towards its native people and slaves imported from Africa. But even in its darker moments, the story of America’s beginnings is a compelling and evocative one.
The America: History and Life database covers the entire history of the United States and Canada, and also contains citations to hundreds of scholarly articles and book reviews. You can find articles on the early history of the United States and Canada, or explore prehistoric times. This database also contains a bibliography of historical documents from around the world. It is available for campus-based research, and is available to TCNJ faculty, students, and faculty.
After the Civil War, America entered World War II, with the aid of riverboats, wagon trains, and the completion of the transcontinental railroad. After Pearl Harbor, large numbers of European immigrants settled in the Prairie States. They included people from Scandinavia and Germany. During the Cold War, the United States supported the Allied forces and defeated Nazi Germany in the European theater. The American steel industry was greatly expanded under Andrew Carnegie’s leadership.
The American Revolution lasted until 1783. The United States Declaration of Independence was issued in 1776, starting the formation of sovereign states in the New World. This war lasted until the Siege of Yorktown. In the end, peace was achieved and the American colonies became a nation. The United States Constitution was adopted in 1789 and the Bill of Rights was added in 1791. This period was also marked by the creation of the United States Postal Service.
The first European to land in the Americas was Giovanni da Verrazzano, a Florentine who had been sponsored by the French. His mission was to explore the continent. The voyage was not without incident – he brought with him diseases from the Old World, and his crew also sailed the Saint Lawrence River, laying the foundation for French colonization in New France. A small number of French Huguenots settled near Jacksonville, Florida. But, when Spanish explorer Pedro Menendez landed in the United States, the French fled to Mexico and then to Mexico.
The war also led to the abolition of slavery in the United States. After the Revolutionary War, all lands east of the Mississippi River became states of the Union. The western lands remained largely inhabited by Native Americans. Only one president, George Washington, was free from slavery. By the 1770s, African slaves accounted for nearly a fifth of the population. Thereafter, the American people became more tolerant and prosperous.
In the year 2000, a close presidential election sparked political polarization, as Democrats and Republicans split the popular vote. Democrats outpolled the Republicans in every election from 1992 to 2020, with the exception of the 2004 election. While the dot-com bubble inflated in the early 2000s, the NASDAQ Composite index inflated and then crashed in the year after. In addition, in 2002, President George W. Bush addressed the General Assembly of the United Nations regarding complaints against Iraq, and he threatened to rip down the wall.