Semester 1 Blog
1. What are the main historic events(hit five) that took place in 8th Grade US History that helped shape the United States up to 1877?(10 points)-Chapters 1-4
A) Discovery of America- 1492- In 1492, Christopher Columbus set to see if the world really is round, hoping to find the eastern side of Asia. He had right intentions, but instead of finding Asia, he found the new world of South and North America. The reason he wanted to find out if the world is round is because it would be much easier to trade from eastern Asia to Europe. This is important to our country, well mainly because if no one discovered america, then there would be no america! It also helped shape the United States because if Columbus never came over, then all of the other explorers never would have came to settle the United States like Jamestown and the Pilgrims.
B) Revolutionary War-(1775-1783)- In 1775, new settlers of the new world of the United States were fed up with Great Britain and King George lll. They were tired of the harsh taxes that Britain set on the thirteen colonies. So in 1775, Americans began to revolt against British soldiers sparking the Revolutionary War. Eventually other countries like Spain and France stepped in and helped us fight the British. On July 4th, 1783, the thirteen colonies won the final battle and finally won independence from Great Britain. I think this event is very important in our history because if we would have never won the war, then we would probably still be under British rule and wouldn’t even be a country.
C) Louisiana Purchase-1803- The Louisiana Purchase was made by the U.S. government and Thomas Jefferson in 1803 and bought from France. It was 828,000 square miles of land west of the Mississippi River and stretched to the rocky mountains. We payed 15 millions dollars for it and only three cents an acre. This really helped shape america like it is today because it was the largest land purchase ever made by the United States. If we didn’t purchase it, the United States might only be half as big today as it is with the Louisiana purchase.
D) Gold Rush-(1848-1855)- The California gold rush started in January of 1848 when James Marshall found gold in Sutter’s Mill. The word of gold in California spread fast, and about a year later over 300,000 people went to California in hopes of becoming rich. Many people failed though. Many people who came to find gold because poor and lived in poverty. Many camps were set up too for gold miners and there were lots of conflict between campers. This event I think majorly helped shape the U.S. because of all the people that came and settled the west side the the continent. If it weren't for the gold rush, California wouldn’t be such a populated state and the west coast wouldn’t be as flourished as it is today.
E) Civil War- (1861-1865)-The civil war was the most costly war in the United States. It was fought between the Northern States(Union) and the Southern States (Confederacy). It was fought about multiple things including slavery and the way of life. As we all know, the Union won the war and slavery was outlawed. This event changed the shaping of the U.S. because if the south would have won, the way of life would be incredibly different and slavery might still be legal, but probably not.
2. How did the US change during the late 1800's and early 1900's?(10 points)-Chapters 5-8
The U.S. went through a major industrial revolution in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s. Thousands of immigrants were coming to the U.S. every day looking for work and to start their new life. A very important man came to be whose name is John Rockefeller. He started the Standard Oil company who completely monopolized the oil game because of the oil they struck in the southern states. A monopoly is when one company completely dominates other companies so they don’t make any money. An example of a monopoly would be AT&T in the 90’s. Rockefeller was ruthless in his monopolizing and bought all other companies. Meanwhile, factory life was hard and underpaying. People worked in factories because of the revolution and received very low pay. Many people worked 12 hour days and even 7 days a week, and many children worked to supply the family with money because of the low pay. Because of the bad work life, many people went on strike and formed labor unions, which were successful for the most part.
3. What impact did the Progressives have on the United States?(10 points)-Ch. 9
Progressives started the Populist movement in the U.S. They believed in always progressing our country and had lots of ideas to improve our country. They had a big impact on breaking up trusts in the U.S. by electing Teddy as president. They pushed for child labor laws and better working conditions which were achieved by 8 hour work days and also set up minimum wage. They also set up taxes in the country and lowered tariffs tremendously. The Progressives helped the average man have more of a say in politics instead of having the government rule us.
4. Describe US Foreign Policy in the late 1800's and early 1900's and be able to give examples.(10 points)-Ch. 10
The US became very imperialistic in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s by taking control of many regions in central and south america. An example would be Panama. Colombia had a lot of power over Panama, but we came in and took things over so we could build the panama canal which was appointed by Teddy Roosevelt. Another example would be the Mexican-American war. We wanted all the land around Texas and the Rio Grande, but Mexico fought us for it. The US and Mexico didn’t have a very good relationship for a while because of some of the things that happened between us like Mexico taking some of our men as prisoners.
5. What impact did World War I have on the United States?(10 points)-Ch. 11
A) World War l helped supply our allies, germany sunk our ships and that made us mad and brought us into the war, we didn't sign the treaty because we didn't agree to the terms and conditions.
6. What positive and negative impact did the 1920's have on the United States?(20 points)-Ch. 12-13
A) New fads came about and changed the peoples ways of life with fun new things to do with friends and family like yo-yos and card games. The magical holes in the wall (outlets) made things come life. The fashion of the 20s changed the peoples looks. Cars made dates easier and helped start car driven things like drive ins and drive in movies.
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