The Americans - Followers of Future
The American War for Independence established a nation based on a revolutionary idea: self-rule and the inalienable rights of all its citizens. It was a war for the people, establishing the rights of rich and poor, high born and low. It was a war of the people, fought by old and young, black and white, men and women. From Lexington and Concord to Yorktown, from Valley Forge to the swamps of the Carolinas, it demanded that America's citizens sacrifice and see themselves as citizens of a country, not a colony.
After the Treaty of Paris ended the war and permanently threw off the shackles of colonialism, the new nation wrote a constitution that would embody its lofty ideals. The United States struggled to distribute powers between its three branches of government, to write just laws, to collect taxes, to defend itself, and to balance a strong centralized government with individual liberty and the rights of states. Immigrants continued to stream in, and the nation expanded; with the stroke of a pen, Thomas Jefferson made the Louisiana Purchase and doubled the size of the nation, ensuring "an empire for liberty."
Although America based its government on the belief that all men are created equal, another eighty years would pass before this promise of freedom extended to all America's citizens of African descent, and another one hundred and fifty years before women would gain the right to vote. The nation was a work in progress as Americans pursued the goal of freedom and justice for all.
The opening of the nineteenth century saw innovations, inventions, and improvements in the old ways of doing things that allowed Americans more personal freedom.
With the Industrial Revolution came inventions that promoted economic growth and enhanced agricultural production. Eli Whitney's cotton gin and the new American textile mills made available mass-produced fabrics and clothing. Improved systems of transportation moved goods swiftly across the countryside. With Robert Fulton's steamboat, the new National Road, the Erie Canal, and the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, the Transportation Age officially began. People had the freedom and means to travel greater distances than ever before.
While the southern economy remained agricultural, the north became increasingly industrialized and urbanized. Some entrepreneurs and factory owners made fortunes. However, the immigrants who flocked to the cities encountered grueling and dangerous working conditions. Some employers created villages that provided for their workers needs, but most saw no need to modify inhospitable working environments.
American culture experienced a creative freedom with the writings of Poe, Hawthorne, Melville, Stowe, Thoreau, and Emerson. In 1855, Walt Whitman created a new, democratic American verse in his groundbreaking collection Leaves of Grass.
With personal freedom increasing for many, the lack of freedom for some groups became more apparent. By the 1830s, many Americans began to see that the concept of liberty for all as outlined in the Declaration of Independence must be more broadly applied to African-Americans. The cotton gin had increased the production of cotton, but at the same time it increased the needs for slave labor. Women, too, found themselves left behind in the freedom movement.
As American freedom took on new meaning, both the abolition and the woman suffrage movements took form and grew in strength. For a nation to be truly free, all must share in that freedom.
History of Americans
The word history comes from the Greek word historía which means "to learn or know by inquiry. ... Native American Society on the Eve of British Colonization.
Come along on an exciting journey through Joy Hakim's story of freedom in America. Explore a webisode and see why the promise of freedom has attracted millions of people from all over the world to come to America. Hear for yourself why generations of men, women, and children have lived for, sacrificed for, and died for that freedom. It is a story that is still unfolding today. It is your story too.
Come along on an exciting journey through Joy Hakim's story of freedom in America. Explore a webisode and see why the promise of freedom has attracted millions of people from all over the world to come to America. Hear for yourself why generations of men, women, and children have lived for, sacrificed for, and died for that freedom. It is a story that is still unfolding today. It is your story too.
The American War for Independence established a nation based on a revolutionary idea: self-rule and the inalienable rights of all its citizens. It was a war for the people, establishing the rights of rich and poor, high born and low. It was a war of the people, fought by old and young, black and white, men and women. From Lexington and Concord to Yorktown, from Valley Forge to the swamps of the Carolinas, it demanded that America's citizens sacrifice and see themselves as citizens of a country, not a colony.
After the Treaty of Paris ended the war and permanently threw off the shackles of colonialism, the new nation wrote a constitution that would embody its lofty ideals. The United States struggled to distribute powers between its three branches of government, to write just laws, to collect taxes, to defend itself, and to balance a strong centralized government with individual liberty and the rights of states. Immigrants continued to stream in, and the nation expanded; with the stroke of a pen, Thomas Jefferson made the Louisiana Purchase and doubled the size of the nation, ensuring "an empire for liberty." 
Although America based its government on the belief that all men are created equal, another eighty years would pass before this promise of freedom extended to all America's citizens of African descent, and another one hundred and fifty years before women would gain the right to vote. The nation was a work in progress as Americans pursued the goal of freedom and justice for all. Americans Revolution
The opening of the nineteenth century saw innovations, inventions, and improvements in the old ways of doing things that allowed Americans more personal freedom. With the Industrial Revolution came inventions that promoted economic growth and enhanced agricultural production. Eli Whitney's cotton gin and the new American textile mills made available mass-produced fabrics and clothing. Improved systems of transportation moved goods swiftly across the countryside. With Robert Fulton's steamboat, the new National Road, the Erie Canal, and the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, the Transportation Age officially began. People had the freedom and means to travel greater distances than ever before.
While the southern economy remained agricultural, the north became increasingly industrialized and urbanized. Some entrepreneurs and factory owners made fortunes. However, the immigrants who flocked to the cities encountered grueling and dangerous working conditions. Some employers created villages that provided for their workers needs, but most saw no need to modify inhospitable working environments.
American culture experienced a creative freedom with the writings of Poe, Hawthorne, Melville, Stowe, Thoreau, and Emerson. In 1855, Walt Whitman created a new, democratic American verse in his groundbreaking collection Leaves of Grass.
With personal freedom increasing for many, the lack of freedom for some groups became more apparent. By the 1830s, many Americans began to see that the concept of liberty for all as outlined in the Declaration of Independence must be more broadly applied to African-Americans. The cotton gin had increased the production of cotton, but at the same time it increased the needs for slave labor. Women, too, found themselves left behind in the freedom movement.
As American freedom took on new meaning, both the abolition and the woman suffrage movements took form and grew in strength. For a nation to be truly free, all must share in that freedom.
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