1. Early America Beginnings – 1800
Historical, Social,
And Cultural Forces
10th Grade Literature

2. Journal Topic
What do you know about Early Americans? Who were these people and what do you think was most important to them?

3. The Native Americans
When Europeans arrived in the 1490’s, America was already home to hundreds of Native Americans.
They came here via the Bering Strait.
There were many different tribes.
Each had their own language, culture, and social values.

4. European Contact
1400’s the Europeans started exploring the rest of the world.
Growth of trade between Europe and Asia
Advances in navigation and shipbuilding
1492 – Columbus made his voyage to the Americas.

5. European Contact
Their exploration, conquest, and settlement led to the founding of many new, and soon to be important, nations.
This exploration was the beginning of the destruction of many Native American societies.
Disease
War

6. Religious Belief
Religion was a major factor in American colonial culture.
Most important in the New England colonies.
Puritans & Pilgrims founded colonies there in the 1620’s.

7. Religious Belief Pennsylvania Quakers led by William Penn – 1670.
The Great Awakening – 1730’s – 1740’s.
A religious revival
Started in New England
Spread through the colonies
Increased feeling of responsibility towards Native Americans & enslaved Africans
More tolerant of other faiths

8. The Slave Trade
From the beginning, the Colonies had a severe labor shortage.
The South had large tobacco and rice plantations that required hundreds of workers.
Many colonists participated in slave trade.
Quakers protested this

9. The Slave Trade 1750 – more than 200,000 slaves
The colonies developed slave codes; sets of laws that regulated slavery and defined relationships between slaves and free people.
Codes became increasingly strict.

10. The American Revolution
In the mid 1760’s unrest began to develop in the colonies.
Britain's long war with France left them in debt.
To raise money they passed new laws that allowed them to tax everyday items.
Mid 1770’s people were tired of the taxes and laws and this led to political violence and a desire for self-rule.

11. The American Revolution
April 1775 – British troops sent to the towns of Lexington and Concord to control unrest.
This started of the Revolutionary War.
American Militiamen vs. British Soldiers.
July 4, 1776 – Declaration of Independence.
British accepted the independence in 1783.

12. Big Ideas of Early America
The Sacred Earth and the Power of Storytelling
Life in the New World
The Road to Independence

13. The Sacred Earth and the Power of Storytelling
Native Americans had strong feelings for the natural world around them.
The earth and all of the living things that inhabited it were sacred to them.
The reverence for the earth and its creatures was passed down orally from generation to generation.
Speakers and storytellers were valued members of society.

14. The Cycle of Life
The attitude toward the natural world shaped the religious beliefs of Native Americans.
Animals, plants, and forces of nature (weather, seasons, sun, moon, etc.) were part of the great cycle of life.
This cycle must be treated with great respect.

15. The Cycle of Life
Life was organized around the events of this cycle – seasons, birth, growth, and death of living things.
They believed all living things had spirits.
Tried to contact spirits through dreams and visions.
Used songs and tales to express their views.

16. Owning the Land They believed that no one person could own the land.
They thought all people and creatures that inhabited the land, owned it.
The Europeans though differently.
They were desperate to own their own land
They tricked Native Americans into signing land treaties
Violent conflicts resulted from this

17. A Legacy of Stories Oral tradition began about 40,000 years ago.
Each culture developed its own stories and mythology.
Versions of the earliest stories have evolved through hundreds of generations and are still a part of Native American traditions today.