US History 2-23-25

Our Roots were in Europe. Discovering New Trade Roots was an issue in 1492 and Spain funded the expedition led by Christopher Colombus to discover a trade route to India. Colombus landed in the Bahamas and that began the takeover of South America by the Spanish and the Portuguese. The Spanish moved to occupy the West Coast. 

Europe needed timber from North America to build ships and buildings. The French established Quebec in Canada and took over the Louisiana Territory along the Mississippi River to New Orleans. The French set up trading posts. The British established colonies in North America from Maine to Georgia. The British were interested in owning the land and posed more of a threat to the Native population.

Evolution

Discovering America 1492 – 1600 (108 years)

British Colony 1600- 1776  (176 years)

Revolutionary War 1776 – 1783 (7 years)

Constitution Established 1783 – 1789) (6 years) 

Expansion

Louisiana Purchase 1802

Mexican War won 1848

Expansion from 1802 to 1848  (46 years)

Industrial Revolution 1848 – 1880

Peak 1880 – 1913

Decline   1913 - present

Economy

Forestry  & Agriculture 1600 – 1848

Manufacturing 1848 – 1970

Decline 1970 - 2025

Education

Self-Taught 1600 – 1900

Public Schools Peak  1900 - 1928

Child Labor Laws 1933

Severe Decline 1979 – 2025

Public Schools peaked in 1928 and began to decline in 1933. They had replaced homeschooling. Public Schools concentrated on basic skills of reading, writing and math. Most students attended school in 1^st grade and graduated in 8^th grade and were well prepared with an education equal to college. Most students were ready to find occupations and own and operate businesses. The Exit Exam was college level.

Health

Health Problems           Solutions

Bacterial Infections       Penicillin 1928

Bone Injuries                Plaster Casts 1900       

Water Borne Diseases Water Treatment 1920

Viral Infections             Natural Immunity        

The US shared a common vision from its beginnings in 1789. We were set to expand and develop based on the technologies that were existing and developing in the 1800s. We developed roads, waterways and canals to improve the transport of goods.

We adopted the railroad using the Steam Engine in the 1820s and completed the transcontinental railroad in 1869. We survived the Civil War from 1860 to 1865. We ended water-borne diseases when we treated water with chlorine and built the sewer systems. The discovery of penicillin in 1928 led to the development of anti-biotics in 1940. Edison’s invention of the light bulb in 1879 led to the development of AC electricity by Nikola Tesla in 1884. The invention of refrigeration in the 1850s led to refrigerators replacing ice boxes in the 1930s

Norb Leahy, Dunwoody GA Tea Party Leader