**Before the Europeans**
**American Indians (Native Americans)** lived in America for thousands of years before Europeans arrived. Hundreds of distinct nations and tribes inhabited North America, each with their own cultures, languages and ways of life.
**Why Colonists Came to America**
European colonists came to America for many reasons:
• Freedom and political liberty
• Religious freedom (especially the Pilgrims and Puritans)
• Economic opportunity
• To escape persecution
**Slavery**
**Africans** were taken from Africa and sold as slaves in the American colonies. Slavery was a central and devastating institution in American history, eventually leading to the Civil War.
**The Road to Independence**
By the 1770s, tensions between Britain and the American colonies had reached a breaking point. Colonists were angry about:
• **High taxes** (Stamp Act, Tea Act, Townshend Acts)
• **Taxation without representation** — being taxed by a Parliament where they had no representatives
• British soldiers quartering in their homes
• The **Boston Massacre** (1770) — British soldiers killed colonists
• The **Boston Tea Party** (1773) — colonists dumped British tea into Boston Harbour
**The American Revolution**
The colonies fought the **American Revolution** (1775-1783) to win independence from Britain. Important events included:
• The Battle of Bunker Hill
• The Declaration of Independence
• Washington Crossing the Delaware (Battle of Trenton)
• The Battle of Saratoga
• Valley Forge
• British surrender at Yorktown
**The Declaration of Independence**
**Thomas Jefferson** wrote the Declaration of Independence, adopted on **July 4, 1776**. It declared the colonies free from Britain and stated that all people are created equal with inherent rights.
**The 13 Original States**
The 13 original colonies that became the first states: New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia.
**The U.S. Constitution (1787)**
After independence, the Founders wrote the U.S. Constitution — ratified in 1788. The **Federalist Papers**, written by **James Madison, Alexander Hamilton and John Jay** (as "Publius"), helped people understand and support the Constitution.
**The Founding Fathers**
• **George Washington** — "Father of Our Country"; first President; General of the Continental Army; President of the Constitutional Convention
• **Thomas Jefferson** — Writer of the Declaration of Independence; third President; made the Louisiana Purchase
• **Benjamin Franklin** — Inventor; first Postmaster General; helped write the Declaration; U.S. diplomat
• **James Madison** — "Father of the Constitution"; fourth President; wrote the Federalist Papers
• **Alexander Hamilton** — first Secretary of the Treasury; wrote the Federalist Papers; helped establish the First Bank of the U.S.