Presidents

Presidents

Under the U.S. Constitution, the President of the United States is the head of state and the head of government of the United States. As chief of the executive branch and head of the federal government as a whole, the presidency is the highest political office in the United States by influence and recognition. The president is also the Commander-in-Chief of the U.S. armed forces. The president is indirectly elected to a four-year term by an Electoral College (or by the House of Representatives should the Electoral College fail to award an absolute majority of votes to any person).

Clic in the link and watch the video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ODTO47NscWA 

Civil War

Civil War and Post-War Reconstruction

he American Civil War started in April 1861. The South claimed the right to leave the United States, also called the Union, and form its own Confederacy. President Lincoln led the Northern states. He was determined to stop the rebellion and keep the country united.

• September 17, 1862, was the bloodiest day of the war.
• Later in 1862, President Lincoln issued a preliminary Emancipation Proclamation that freed all slaves in the Confederate states. 
•   An antitrust law was passed in 1890 to stop monopolies, but it was not very effective.

World War I, 1920s Prosperity, and the Great Depression

In 1914, Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Turkey fought Britain, France, Italy, and Russia. Other nations joined the conflict, and the war reached across the Atlantic Ocean to affect the United States. 

• After Russia’s revolution in 1917, Americans feared the spread of communism.
• In October 1929 the good times ended with the collapse of the stock market and an economic depression.

The New Deal and World War II

President Roosevelt believed that democracy had failed in other countries because of unemployment and insecurity,

•  On December 7, 1941, Japan attacked the American fleet at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.
• World War II was finally over in August 1945. 

 

Forming a National Government

Forming a National Government

• In May 1787, 55 delegates met in Philadelphia.
• The Constitution provided the framework for the new government.
• On September 17, 1787, most of the delegates signed the new Constitution.
• City in September 1789, the delegates proposed a number of amendments to the Constitution to list these rights. They added 10 amendments, known as the Bill of Rights. 

Revolution

Revolution

The American Revolution and the war for independence from Britain began with a small fight between British troops and colonists on April 19, 1775.

• The Minutemen planned to protest silently and not shoot unless the British shot first.
• George Washington of Virginia became the commander-in-chief. 
• On August 23, 1775, the king said the American colonies were in rebellion.
• The Fourth of July became Independence Day in the United States.

The Road to Independence

The Road to Independence

The ideas of liberalism and democracy are the basis of the U.S. political system. As the colonists built their new society, they believed more strongly in these ideas. Britain’s 13 colonies grew in population and economic strength during the 1700s.

• After Britain won a costly war with France in the 1750s, the colonists were asked to help pay for the war, and for Britain’s large empire.
• The Royal Proclamation of 1763 restricted the colonists from settling new land. 
• The Currency Act of 1764 made it illegal to print paper money in the colonies.