History

1
History Government of the United States
2
The first people to live in North America were
Native Americans.

• During the Last Ice Age, over 10,000 years ago.
• Ocean water levels were lower due to large
  glaciers.
• A land bridge formed between Russia and Alaska.
• Today, the Bering Strait must be crossed by ship.

3
Colonial Exploration Development

• Europeans discovered the Americas in 1492.
• Christopher Columbus was trying to find a quick
  route to Asia, instead he found the Caribbean
  islands.
• Spain, France, and Great Britain established
  colonies in North America, searching for land and
  wealth.

4
French Indian War

• France controlled land in eastern Canada and the
  Great Lakes until 1763.
• In 1763, the British won the French Indian War
  and gained control over Frances colonies.

5
13 Colonies to United States of America

• Shortly after the French Indian War, the 13
  colonies rebelled from British dominance and
  fought a war to win their freedom, the American
  Revolution.
• In 1776 colonists declared their independence
  from Great Britain.
• In 1783, Great Britain recognized American
  independence and the United States of America was
  created!

6
The United States Expand West

• During the 1800s the U.S. gained land rights
  from the east coast to the Pacific ocean.
• Some of the land was given to the U.S. through
  treaties with other countries.
• Some of the land was annexed by the U.S.- this is
  when the U.S. declares ownership of an area. This
  caused suffering for many Native Americans.

7
Immigration

• During the 1800s the U.S. also grew in
  population.
• Many people from Europe immigrated to the U.S. in
  search for freedom, jobs, and land.
• Today many people still move to America, but most
  people are Asian or Hispanic, not European.

8
The United States and Canada both have
REPRESENTATIVE DEMOCRACIES, but the governments
are a little different in other ways.

• In representative democracies voters choose
  leaders who make and enforce laws.

9
The Constitution

• The Constitution was written in the 1780s.
• Its purpose is to direct how the government is
  set up and how it works.
• The founders of the Constitution wanted
• A strong and powerful government
• A government with limited powers, so that
  peoples rights were protected.

• The U.S. government has a separation of powers,
  so that no branch of government is TOO powerful!
• The individual states also have power! This is
  called federalism- when power is divided between
  the national government and state governments.

10
The Amendments

• In 1791, the Bill of Rights was added to the
  Constitution.
• This included 10 amendments, or changes.
• This is very important because it helped protect
  the rights of the people!