Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal..-- Abraham Lincoln

		6th Grade
	Words to Know:
	Continents: large land masses surrounded by water (there are 7 on Earth-- can you name them?) Indentured Servants: people who didn't have money for the trip to the colonies-- they agreed to work without pay for the person that paid their way; they were free at the end of their contract Slaves: Africans who were captured and then shipped to the colonies to be sold into slavery; they had no rights and were owned as property for life	Articles of Confederation: a constitution written during the American Revolution to establish the powers of the new national government Federal System of Government: a system that divides powers between national government and the government of the states Abolitionists: people who worked to end slavery	Suffrage: the right to vote Virginia Plan: a document written by James Madison, which called for 3 separate branches of government-- Legislative Branch, Judicial Branch, and Executive Branch

Geographic Regions have different characteristics. Here are the Regions of North America.

Let's compare the Geographic Regions of North America:

Region	Location	Physical Characteristics
Coastal Plain	Located along the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico	Broad lowland with many excellent harbors
Appalachian Highlands	Located west of the Coastal Plain; extends from eastern Canada to western Alabama; includes the Piedmont Region of Virginia	Old, eroded mountains-- the oldest mountain range in North America
Canadian Shield	Wraps around the Hudson Bay in a horseshoe shape	Its hills are worn by erosion and hundreds of its lakes are carved by glaciers; it holds some of the oldest rock formations in North America
Interior Lowlands	Located west of the Appalachian Mountains and east of the Great Plains	Rolling flatlands with many rivers, broad river valleys, and grassy hills
Great Plains	Located west of the Interior Lowlands and east of the Rocky Mountains	Flat land that gradually increases in elevation as you go west; it contains grasslands
Rocky Mountains	Located west of the Great plains and east of the Basin and Range	Rugged mountains stretching from Alaska almost to Mexico with high elevations; also contains the Continental Divide, which determines the flow of rivers
Basin and Range	Located west of the Rocky Mountains and east of the Sierra Nevada Mountains and the Cascade Mountains	Contains some tall mountains but also Death Valley, which is the lowest point in North America
Coastal Range	Rugged mountains along the Pacific Coast that stretch from California to Canada	Contains fertile valleys

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Characteristics of the United States:

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The First Americans: *The American Indians were the first people to live in North America. *These First Americans lived in different areas. *They fished, hunted, and harvested crops for food. *Clothing was made from animal skins and plants. *Shelter was made from resources found in their environment, such as sod, stones, animal skins, and wood.

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Many different European countries competed to claim land in North America and to extend their power to the western world.

There were several reasons why they wanted to explore the New World:
1) Economic Reasons: they wanted to find gold, natural resources, and to trade
2) Religious Reasons: they wanted to spread Christianity
3) Competition: they wanted to own more land than anyone else and believed their culture was best

But, there were problems...
1) they had poor maps and navigational tools
2) there was little food and many became sick or died from starvation or disease
3) they were afraid of what was over in the New World, since no one had been before
4) they did not have appropriate supplies

Some explorers achieved great things from exploring the New World:
1) they exchanged goods and ideas
2) they were able to improve navigational tools and ships
3) they claimed new territories

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The Early European Explorers:

European Country (Sponsor)	Regions Explored	Relationship with the American Indians
Spain	Francisco Coronado claimed southwest United States	Conquered American Indians and made them slaves; brought Christianity to the New World, but also brought over European Diseases
France	Samuel de Champlain established Quebec; Robert La Salle claimed the Mississippi River Valley	Established trading posts and spread Christian religion
England	John Cabot explored eastern Canada	Established settlements and claimed land; learned farming techniques and traded with the First Americans

Sometimes there was cooperation between the Explorers and the Native Americans:
1) Technologies-- they shared knowledge about transporting weapons and farm tools
2) They traded with one another
3) Native Americans taught the Explorers a great deal about crops

But at other times, there was conflict:
1) Who owned the land?
2) They competed for trade
3) There were many differences between European and Native American cultures
4) Disease was brought over by the Explorers
5) They spoke different languages, so communication was very difficult

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Another area of exploration was in West Africa...
Ghana, Mali, and Songhai
These ancient empires became powerful by controlling trade in West Africa.
Each empire dominated West Africa at certain times from 300 to 1600 A.D.
The Portuguese people carried goods from Europe to West African empires.
They traded metals, cloth, and other manufactured goods for GOLD.

GHANA was the first great African empire of the western Sudan. Ghana became known for its rich culture, wealth, organization, and power.
Ghana became very rich because of the "salt-gold trade" between West and North Africa. This trade was very important, and Ghana came to control not only gold and salt, but also the trade routes that went through their land. Since gold and salt were both so valuable, the mines were kept secret! Most of the trading was done in a way called "silent barter." This meant that traders swapped gold, salt, and other objects without ever meeting in person!
The king of Ghana collected taxes from all of the traders that traveled through Ghana. He also kept the gold nuggets for himself during trade (traders used the gold dust). Ghana became very rich and powerful and thrived until the mid 1200's. It started losing power when Muslim raiders began attacking the empire, since they wanted control of the salt-gold trade. The Muslims also wanted the people of Ghana to convert to their religion of Islam. Ghana fought the Muslims for more than 30 years, but the empire began to break apart into smaller provinces. A new and more powerful empire rose in Ghana's place. It was called MALI!

The empire of MALI was founded in the mid 1200's and lasted through the late 1400's. A man named Sundiata earned the title "Lion King of Mali." In his lifetime, he turned Mali into a rich empire because of the salt/gold trade. Another king of Mali was named Mansa Musa. Under his rule, the capital city of Timbuktu became a center of learning for scholars throughout Africa. Mansa Musa went on a pilgrimage, or a long trip, to a place called Mecca. This trip is one of the most famous and well documented ones in history. Mali continued to grow in size, but it became difficult to control. After Mansa Musa's death, his son, Maghan, took control of the Mali empire. Warriors later attacked Timbuktu and buildings were destroyed. Mali continued to be an empire for another 200 years, but its Golden Age was over. A new empire replaced Mali as the most powerful trading empire in West Africa. It was called SONGHAI!

SONGHAI became powerful as a man named Ali-Ber ruled the empire. He helped expand the empire by conquering Timbuktu and then spreading in all directions to capture the remaining parts of the former Mali empire. Each conquered area was divided into 5 large provinces, which each had its own governor, courts, and army to make sure people paid taxes. Songhai became the most well-organized empire in ancient West Africa. Songhai grew rich like Ghana and Mali by controlling trade routes across the Sahara Desert. But the Songhai empire did not last long. Moroccan soldiers attacked the empire with guns while the people of Songhai fought with swords. The great Songhai empire was brought to an end by this fighting, drought, and disease.
The Songhai empire was then divided into small states and trade routes were still used, even though the empire was no longer in power. Warfare continued in this region for many years and the area became very weak because of the fighting. No other nation in West Africa was able to achieve the greatness of the empires of Ghana, Mali, or Songhai!

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Colonial America
(Visit a neat website here)
People from England wanted to come to the new world for religious and economic reasons.
Let's compare some of the colonies that were established:

	Colony	Why It Was Established
	Roanoke Island (Lost Colony)	It was an economic venture-- the 1st permanent English settlement in North America was Jamestown Settlement and it was an economic venture by the Virginia Company
	Plymouth Colony	It was settled by separatists from the Church of England who wanted to belong to other churches
	Massachusetts Bay Colony	This colony was settled by the Puritans because they wanted to worship as they pleased
	Pennsylvania	This was settled by the Quakers, who wanted to have freedom to practice their faith without interference
	Georgia	This colony was settled by people who had been in prisons in England. The settlers hoped to experience a new life in the colony and to experience economic freedom in the new world.

Take a 13 Colonies Quiz here!

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Life in the Colonies

People's lives were not the same in each of the colonies. In fact, they varied in several different ways. For example:

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During this time, England tried to control the colonies in different ways:

WHY did England want so much control over the colonies? Their reasons were...
1) England wanted to remain powerful in the world
2) England imposed taxes, such as the Stamp Act, to raise necessary money to pay the cost of the French and Indian War

WHY did England impose so many taxes? They said it was because...
1) To help finance the French and Indian War
2) To help pay to keep English troops in the colonies

WHY were the colonists upset with England wanting so much control??
1) they had no representation in Parliament
2) some colonists did not like colonial governors having so much power
3) England wanted to have strict control over colonial legislatures
4) the colonies were against taxes
5) The Proclamation of 1763 got in the way of settlers' western movement

Signing the Declaration of Independence

Colonists had many new political ideas. They wanted to be free from England's power (independence) and wanted a democratic government in the American colonies.

Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence, a document which demanded independence from England.
Some key points stated in the Declaration of Independence were:
1) people have "certain unalienable rights" (they can't be taken away) including life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness
2) people establish their own government to protect these rights
3) government gets its power from the people
4) people have a right and a duty to change a government that violates these rights

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Important People of the American Revolution:

King George III: King of England during the Revolutionary period	Lord Cornwallis: British General who surrendered to the Patriots at Yorktown	Thomas Jefferson: Main author of the Declaration of Independence
John Adams: very active in the push for independence	George Washington: Commander of the Continental Army	Patrick Henry: Outspoken member of the House of Burgesses; inspired patriotism with his "Give me liberty or give me death" speech
Thomas Paine: Journalist and author of Common Sense	Phillis Wheatley: A former slave who wrote poems and plays supporting independence	Benjamin Franklin: Major member of the Continental Congress; helped organize the Declaration of Independence
Paul Revere: A patriot who made a risky ride to warn colonists that "The British are coming".

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Some Major Events Leading to the American Revolution:

Boston Massacre: Colonists in Boston were shot after taunting British soldiers	Boston Tea Party: Samuel Adams and Paul Revere led patriots in throwing tea into the Boston Harbor to protest taxes on tea
First Continental Congress: Delegates from all colonies except Georgia met to discuss problems with England and to push for independence	Battle of Lexington and Concord: This was the site of the 1st armed conflict of the Revolutionary War
Approval of the Declaration of Independence: Colonies declared their independence from England with this powerful document (it was signed on July 4, 1776)	Battle of Saratoga: Americans won this battle against England, causing the turning point in the war
Surrender at Yorktown: This was the colonial victory over England's General Lord Cornwallis and his troops, causing him to surrender and end the Revolutionary War	Signing of the Treaty of Paris: England accepted America's independence by signing this document

The Continental Army:
No one probably predicted that the colonists would defeat the English
during the Revolutionary War.
General George Washington was commander and leader of the troops. The 14,000 soldiers wore no uniforms-- only their ordinary clothes. Not everyone had guns, but if they did, they were flintlock muskets, which could not shoot very far. Those without guns used spears and axes as weapons. Some of the soldiers had fought in the French and Indian War. The only way they knew how to fight was like the Native Americans-- in irregular lines and while hiding. The English army did not fight this way. The colonists had little training and had not even fought together as an army before, yet they went to war against the most powerful army in the world! Later, an officer even said, It is incredible that soldiers composed of men of every age, even children of fifteen, of whites and blacks, almost naked, unpaid, and rather poorly fed, can march so well and withstand fire so steadfastly.

HOW did the Continental Army win the Revolutionary War? Well, they had a few advantages, including:
1) The Colonists worked hard to defend their own land, principles, and beliefs
2) The Colonists had support from France and Spain
3) The Colonists had strong leadership

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Once the Revolutionary War was over, America established a new national government.
The Articles of Confederation was a constitution written during the American Revolution to establish the new nation's powers.
There were, however, some Weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation:
1) They provided for a weak national government
2) They gave Congress no power to tax or regulate commerce among the states
3) The Articles of Confederation did not provide a national currency (money)
4) They gave each state only 1 vote in Congress no matter how big the state was
5) They did not provide for an Executive or Judicial Branch of Government

So now the people had a government that was too weak to work well. The confederation had 13 separate and independent states instead of one united nation. The British even called the nation the "Disunited States."

Representatives from 5 states got together and decided that the country needed a stronger national government. This meant that the Articles of Confederation had to be changed. They worked hard to develop a new set of rules-- the Constitution of the United States of America. The Constitution established a federal system of government that made the state and national governments share the power. This is how the government was separated in order to divide the power equally:

These branches created Checks and Balances, meaning that each branch can check the power of the other. These checks keep any one branch from gaining too much power.

The states ratified, or accepted, the Constitution but shortly after, changes were made. These 10 amendments, or changes, are known as the Bill of Rights. They provide a written guarantee of an person's rights, such as the freedom of speech and the freedom of religion.
James Madison was the author of the Bill of Rights.

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Even though the national government of the United States of America was beginning to take shape, it doesn't mean there weren't conflicts. Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson had very different views on the role of the national government. As a result, 2 different political parties were created...

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The First 5 U.S. Presidents and their Accomplishments:
(all were from Virginia except John Adams)

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Between 1801 and 1861, the United States grew in size because of exploration and expansion to new territories.

The New Territories added to the United States after 1801:

The Louisiana Purchase

Moving to the Oregon Territory

Western movement became very popular for several reasons, mostly for geographic and economic ones:
1) the population in the eastern states kept growing and growing, making it crowded in some areas
2) there was plenty of cheap, fertile land out west
3) it was a great economic opportunity (California Gold Rush, logging, farming, freedom for runaway slaves)
4) transportation was cheaper and faster (they had rivers and canals-- Erie Canal-- and used steamboats)
5) to gain knowledge about the overland trails (Oregon and Santa Fe)
6) people believed in "Manifest Destiny"-- the idea that expansion was for the good of the country and was the right of the country

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Industry was popular in the North before the Civil War. But the equipment produced in the North had an impact on the farming society of the South. New technologies came about, including:

Invention	Characteristics and Impacts
The Cotton Gin	- it was invented by Eli Whitney - it increased the production of cotton, so it increased the need for slave labor to cultivate and pick the cotton
The Reaper	- Jo Anderson (a slave) and Cyrus McCormick worked to invent it - it increased the productivity of the American farmer
The Steamboat	- it was improved by Robert Fulton - it eventually provided faster river transportation that connected Southern plantations and farms to Northern industries and Western territories
The Steam Locomotive	- it provided faster land transportation

The abolitionists were people who worked to end slavery.
The Abolitionist Movement:

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The Suffrage Movement:

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There were many differences between the Northern and Southern states that eventually resulted in the Civil War.
Differences that Divided the Nation:

The South feared that the North would take control of Congress, and Southerners began to proclaim states' rights as a mean of self-protection. The North believed that the nation was a union and could not be divided. While the Civil War did not begin as a war to get rid of slavery, issues surrounding slavery deeply divided the nation.
Several compromises were made to try and resolve the differences between the Northern and Southern states:

After Abraham Lincoln was elected the 16th President of the United States, the South seceded, or withdrew, from the Union. Confederate forces attacked Fort Sumter in South Carolina, marking the beginning of the Civil War. Lincoln and many Northerners believed that the Unites States was one nation that could not be separated or divided. Most Southerners believed that states had freely created and joined the union, so they could just as freely leave it.

View a PowerPoint slideshow about the Civil War. If you don't have Powerpoint on your computer, download the FREE viewer here!

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The Roles of Civil War Leaders:

Abraham Lincoln ~ was President of the United States ~ opposed the spread of slavery ~ issued the Emancipation Proclamation ~ determined to preserve the Union- by force if necessary ~ believed the United States was one nation, not a collection of independent states ~ wrote the Gettysburg Address that said the Civil War was to preserve a government "of the people, by the people, and for the people"	Robert E. Lee ~ was leader of the Army of Northern Virginia (South) ~ was offered command of the Union forces at the beginning of the war but chose not to fight against Virginia ~ opposed seceding from the Union, but did not believe the union should be held together by force ~ urged Southerners to accept defeat at the end of the war and reunite Americans when some wanted to keep fighting
Jefferson Davis ~ was president of the Confederate States of America	Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson ~ was a skilled Confederate general from Virginia
Ulysses S. Grant ~ was general of the Union army (North) that defeated Lee	Frederick Douglass ~ was a former slave who escaped to the North and became an abolitionist

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Life on the battlefield and on the homefront was extremely harsh. Many died from disease and exposure.
Effects of the Civil War:

Effects of the Civil War on African Americans:

The 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments of the Constitution of the United States of America address the issues of slavery and guarantee equal protection under the law for all citizens.
Basic Provisions of the Amendments:

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RECONSTRUCTION
The Reconstruction policies were harsh and created problems in the South. Reconstruction attempted to give meaning to the freedom that the former slaves had achieved.
Reconstruction Policies and Problems:

Southern military leaders could not hold office

Southerners resented northern "carpetbaggers", who took advantage of the South during Reconstruction

African Americans could now hold public office

African Americans gained equal rights as a result of the Civil Rights Act of 1866, which authorized the use of federal troops for its enforcement

Northern soldiers supervised the South

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FCPS does not control the content or relevancy of these pages.
Updated 11/19/06

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