American History Beginnings To 1877 Myworld Interactive Work May 2026

Southern states passed Black Codes to restrict freedoms. Sharecropping trapped many Black families and poor whites in debt. Violent groups like the Ku Klux Klan terrorized Black voters.

Written mainly by Thomas Jefferson , the Declaration listed grievances against King George III and asserted natural rights—“Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.” It was adopted by the Second Continental Congress . american history beginnings to 1877 myworld interactive

The Proclamation of 1763 banned colonial settlement west of the Appalachians—enraging land-hungry colonists. Then came a series of acts: Sugar Act (1764), Stamp Act (1765), Townshend Acts (1767) . Colonists shouted, “No taxation without representation!” They boycotted British goods, formed the Sons of Liberty (led by Samuel Adams), and staged protests like the Boston Tea Party (1773) dumping tea into the harbor. Southern states passed Black Codes to restrict freedoms

myWorld Interactive Connection Essential Question: How did the struggle for freedom and unity define the United States from its origins through Reconstruction? Part 1: Early Beginnings & Colonization (Pre-1607 – 1630) Key Vocabulary: Bering Land Bridge, Maize, Columbian Exchange, Encomienda system, Joint-stock company Written mainly by Thomas Jefferson , the Declaration

Before Europeans arrived, diverse Indigenous cultures thrived across North America. The Ancestral Puebloans (Southwest) built cliff dwellings, the Mississippians (Southeast) built huge mounds like Cahokia, and the Iroquois (Northeast) formed a powerful political league (the Iroquois Confederacy). Most tribes relied on hunting, fishing, and farming—especially maize (corn), which allowed populations to grow.

The first national government was weak—no president, no courts, no power to tax or raise an army. Shays’ Rebellion (1786) —an uprising of indebted farmers in Massachusetts—showed the Articles were failing.