Racism In America

Around 12,000 B.C., human beings in Asia moved north in search wooly mammoths and made their way across the Bering Straight to Alaska. Over the next several hundred years, they made their way to the Great Plains where they hunted huge mammals to the point of extinction. During the Archaic Period (9000 B.C. – 1000 B.C.), bands of hunters moved constantly from one area to another in constant search of a suitable food supply. By 1000 B.C. the first sedentary communities were developed near rich fishing areas along the coasts and large rivers. Sedentary people created complex mound communities along the Mississippi River and in the Ohio Valley. When improvements in corn reached the land north of the Mexican desert, there was a marked boom in sedentary city development. Corn cultivation influenced peoples' religions and improved their health, helping to spawn a population growth after 800 A.D. These urban centers declined in the 13th and 14th centuries because of warfare, soil exhaustion and the disruption of inter-regional trade. In Europe, forces of social change were creating unrest; unrest which would prompt hundreds of people to explore the Atlantic Ocean and reshape the relationship between peoples of the world.

Although England and the American colonies intended their relationship to be mutually beneficial, they increasingly worked at cross purposes over time. Founded by a number of independent groups, the colonists and England regarded the colonies as separate. But by the middle of the seventeenth century, Parliament attempted to impose order with various laws. A more unified American character and identity began to emerge in the colonies. The Enlightenment's political thought influenced Americans and its followers' scientific...

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...nited States, was poorly executed by both sides and ended in 1814 with no major changes. In ensuing years, tensions eased between the United States and Britain and the two nations grew closer economically. The United States also gained Florida from Spain (for $5 million) and established boundaries with Mexico. And in 1823 the United States issued the Monroe Doctrine, stating that while it would respect already-existing European colonies in the Western Hemisphere and try to stay out of European affairs, the United States would treat any attempt to extend European control in the hemisphere as a hostile gesture. Although this period is often called the Era of Good Feelings, shadows of sectionalism were arising as powerful regional leaders gained prominence. The first of many conflicts on slavery was resolved with the Missouri Compromise (1820). (Image: National Archives)