Essay on the United States History

The United States has a rich history. The history of United States covers more than five centuries. The paper critically looks at the United States history before 1492 to 1800, from 1801 to 1900 and from 1901 to the present time.

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In early America, nomadic hunters migrated from Russia through the Bering strip to North America; this was about fifteen to forty thousand years ago. During those times, sea levels were lower, and huge ice sheets covered northern lands creating a land bridge between America and Asia known as the Bering land bridge. The land bridge enabled people from Asia to cross over to North America; these were the first inhabitants of America, they exhibited a nomadic way of life (Richter 34). Vikings were the second people to discover America and Columbus were third. From as early as 1607, the Europeans set up colonies in America (Foster 22). The colonies were met with opposition by Native Americans. The American Revolution took place between 1774 and 1783. The United States gained its independence in 1776 (Chapin 78).

After gaining independence, the young nation took part in Westward expansion. Westward expansion of the United States took place between 1824 and 1849 (Beck 35). The American civil war took place between 1860 and 1865; it was fuelled by ideological differences between the Northern States and the Southern States. Slavery was the main issue at hand; the Southern States were against the abolition of slavery whereas the Northern States were in support of it. After the end of the War with the Northern States victorious; reconstruction commenced from 1865 up to 1877 (Smith 21-45). Industrialization commenced in the United States in the 1860s. In the 1870s, the United States became one of the leading industrial powers. Advancements in technology and huge untapped resources were the driving forces of industrialization. Industrialization brought about the growth of many American cities as well as the arrival of immigrants from Europe to work in the new industries (Hillstrom 32).

The United States participation in the First World War which took place between 1914 and 1918, began in 1917 when it declared war on Germany after its ship, RMS Lusitania which operated under the flag of Great Britain was sunk in 1915 by Germany. Before 1917, the United States had taken a neutral stance in the war (Preston 54). Openness about sex that is prevalent in the United States has its roots in the 1920s. Penicillin was discovered in the 1920s by Alexander Fleming. The United States movie industry history can be traced back to 1920s when it set up its operations in the Hollywood neighborhood of Los Angeles. Prohibition of sale and purchase of alcoholic drinks came into effect in 1916. American gangs made a footing in America during the prohibition period. The gangs took advantage of Prohibition to sell bootlegged alcoholic drinks. The Great Depression took place between 1929 and 1939. During the Great Depression, financial markets were in turmoil, unemployment levels increased, poverty levels rose and living conditions deteriorated. The United States got involved in World War II when it abandoned its neutrality stance and came to the aid of the British in early 1941. On August 6 and 9 1945, the United States dropped two atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki respectively. The 1950s was an era of Civil Rights Movement. The Vietnam War took place in the 1950s. NASA was established in 1958. Operation desert storm took place in 1991. The Rodney King police brutality incident took place in 1992; it sparked nationwide protests against law enforcement officers, and it led to the killing of fifty-three people and property worth one billion dollars was damaged (Rubel 5- 123). On September 11, 2001, Al Qaeda terrorist group attacked the United States. On March 17, 2003, the United States invaded Iraq. On August 29, 2005, New Orleans was struck by Hurricane Katrina. Barrack Obama became the first African- American President in 2008 (Hart 11- 105).

In 2009, Barrack Obama was sworn in as the first United States African American president. In 2009, Wikileaks, an international organization that publishes secret information about countries in the world revealed the United States concern. In the report, it was revealed that the United States had revealed that Arab leaders had urged the United States to attack Iran to end the latters nuclear weapons program. In 2011, Osama bin Laden was killed by a covert United States military attack in his hideout in Pakistan. The death of Osama bin Laden was a major step in ensuring that the United States addresses the problem of terrorism (Owen and Maurer 45).

Works Cited

Beck, Derek W. The War Before Independence, 1775-1776: Igniting the American Revolution. , 2016. Print.

Chapin, Bradley. Early America. New York: Free Press, 1968. Print.

Foster, T. Early America"." Frontiers. 35.1 (2014): 20-25. Print.

Hart, Gary. The Fourth Power: A Grand Strategy for the United States in the Twenty-First Century. New York: Oxford University Press, 2004. Print.

Hillstrom, Kevin. Industrial Revolution in America. Santa Barbara, Calif: ABC-CLIO, 2007. Print.

Owen, Mark, and Kevin Maurer. No Easy Day: The Autobiography of a Navy Seal : the Firsthand Account of the Mission That Killed Osama Bin Laden

Preston, Daniel. 20th Century United States History. New York, N.Y: Harper Perennial, 1992. Print.

Richter, Daniel K. Facing East from Indian Country: A Native History of Early America. Cambridge, Mass: Harvard University Press, 2001. Print.

Rubel, David. The United States in the 20th Century. New York: Scholastic Reference, 1995. Print.

Smith, Adam I. P. The American Civil War. Basingstoke [England: Palgrave Macmillan, 2007. Print.