The Development of the United States

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Table of Contents

Introduction
The United States as a Pre-Columbian, Native American Settlement
The United States as a British Colony
The United States as Young and Growing Country
Conclusion
Works Cited

Introduction

The United States (U.S.) development is a complex process that has undergone several major periods, each of which had a significant influence on the contemporary nation. This essay will examine the transitions from a Pre-Columbian, Native American settlement to a British colony and, finally, to a young and growing country. In addition, the explanation of key terms and discussion of the vital events, in chronological order, will be provided to reveal the historical changes that happened to the U.S.

The United States as a Pre-Columbian, Native American Settlement

Primarily, native Americans were dispersed over the territory and did not have a social organization. They were represented with tribes who possess distinct languages but even have common trade routes for goods exchanging. There were no fixed gender roles, and despite the leader usually being a man, women often participated in decision-making. Thus, in such ancient tribes as the Lenape, Muscogee, and Cherokee, who were matriarchal, women possessed the power and were responsible for passion on the traditions. Although the native Americans tend to be spread over the area, there were places considered urban ones. According to Scott et al., “the largest indigenous cultural and population center in North America was located along the Mississippi River near present-day St. Louis,” and this city has the contemporary name “Cahokia” (16). However, this ancient area was not capable of maintaining a large number of citizens and the civilization declined.

Slavery is a well-known phenomenon for the U.S., as the native Americans had been suffering from European nations’ occupation for a long period. In 1492 a Genoese sailor, Christopher Columbus, landed on an island in the Bahamas that is considered the exploration America under Spain’s flag (Scott et al. 23). Because of the higher level of European civilizations’ technical development, the native Americans could be slavered and used as a labor force to fulfill the growing demand. However, there were influencers who tried to protect Americans from complete extinction. According to Scott et al., Bartolomé de Las Casas, a Spanish Dominican priest, the defender of the Native people, suggested that “the Spanish send Black and White laborers to the Indies” (26). It resulted in the profitable African slave trade, while the measures to denounce the brutality of the posture toward the slavers were taken. In 1542, Bartolomé wrote “A Short Account of the Destruction of the Indies,” revealing the mistreatment of natives by Spanish colonists.

The United States as a British Colony

The next period of U.S. history is English exploration, early attempts of which were taken during the rule of Queen Elizabeth. According to Scott et al., “The first permanent English settlement was established by a joint-stock company, the Virginia Company” (44). After gaining royal approval, the enterprise sent 144 employees to establish a colony, beginning the essential epoch. Moreover, the company implemented the headright system that implies giving areas for living and building property for ones who paid for their passage to Virginia on their own. This early colonization has s purpose of providing the English empire with tobacco and cash crop. However, focused on profitable resources, under the rule of John Smith, one of the colony’s members, they do not have enough food for long-term survival. This phenomenon is complementary to the economic philosophy of the new world called “mercantilism,” which implies the perception of wealth through the amount of rare resources, such as gold and silver, held. Therefore, one of the exploration’s aims was to mine precious raw materials.

The complexity of survival in America raised the necessity of uniting. The Mayflower Compact, a written agreement that implies the provision of an assist to each other on a voluntary basis, was signed in 1620 by migrants and became the first American governing document, predating the U.S. Constitution (Scott et al. 72). It mostly presented a religious rationale for colonization and expressed a community ideal of working together. The other aspect of the discussed period is the Atlantic Slave trade that implies the transportation of enslaved African people to America by traders, where they were used as a cheap labor force, for instance, for sugar plantations. The transatlantic crossing was called “the Middle Passage,” and it was accompanied by a lot of slaves’ death during the journey (Scott et al. 139). Finally, the American identity reached a new level, at which the idea of liberation from the British crown became reasonable, which resulted in America’s war for independence.

The United States as Young and Growing Country

The separation of the British Empire was a vital part of U.S. development. The Declaration of Independence is a document in which the justification for liberty was articulated based on principles about universal human rights and values. It also provides a sequence of facts, which revealed the instances of the King of Great Britain’s usurpations and the presence of the phenomenon of an absolute Tyranny. In 1776, a member of the committee responsible for the declaration presented to the Continental Congress (Scott et al., 139). One of the later transformations of the existed approach, with respect to the labor force, is the appearance of “free labor.” The dominant party in Congress insisted on changing slaves to freemen, who were not bound to work for others, as this model was considered to be more effective. This ideology complimented industrialization, as there was a necessity for skilled workers rather than for cheap but unspecialized force.

The next vital for the new and independent country document is Constitution. It was decided at the Philadelphia Convention that later became a Constitutional Convention, to create a new framework for a national government. The main emphasis of this charter is on the citizens’ rights, protected through the elected representatives (Scott et al., 183). By the U.S. Constitution, the executive and judicial branches and other powers are assigned to Congress, which consist of a Senate and House of Representatives, responsibility. However, it was argued that the Constitution did not have a Bill of Rights, which could result in the threatening of U.S. citizens’ rights. According to Scott et al., “in 1789, Virginia Representative James Madison introduced, and Congress approved the Bill of Rights,” which was adopted in 1789 (193). It contained ten amendments, which intended to guarantee the citizens’ personal rights and provide legitimate protection to them. Therefore, the U.S. obtained independence and established a sequence of documents that ensure the functioning of a society for the benefit of the citizens.

Conclusion

The United States history is composed of major periods, some of which are pre-Columbian one, Spanish conquest, colonial one, and finally, separation from the British Empire and growing as a young country. The phenomenon of slavery was present over the major part of the time, as European countries used to utilize empowered people as a labor force to produce resources for their countries. It can be seen that liberation through wars and struggles enabled America to start a process of independent development in an economically and technologically advanced country.

Works Cited

Scott, Corbett, et al. The Forgotten Room U.S. History. Rice University, 2014

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The Development of the United States

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