By the way, the topic of American "exclusivity" has long been beaten.
From an article by I. P. DEMENTIEVA_1986 ("free" lands were seen as a remedy for evils):
... the features of the economic, social and political development of the United States, misinterpreted from the standpoint of bourgeois apologetics and national chauvinism, resulted in the theory of "exclusivity", substantiating the "uniqueness" of the US historical experience, the "ideality" of American socio-political institutions as role models and, ultimately, the "non-subordination" of American capitalism to the general laws of its development. The theory of "exclusivity" has changed over the generations, filled with different content in the minds of different sections of American society, but has always been essential element American bourgeois consciousness. It has received a clear reflection in bourgeois historiography along the entire path of its development - from colonial times to the present day.

The seeds of ideas about the "exceptionalism of America" ​​began to emerge with its discovery and often as a dream of ordinary people about a land free from exploitation, a country where harmony and happiness reign, being an integral part of a social utopia - the legend of the "golden age". In 1516, Thomas More placed an ideal state on the site of the newly discovered America, providing an example for a long series of imitations. J. - J. Rousseau and his followers also saw in America a field for putting "natural laws" into practice. The idea of ​​"exclusivity" became part of the worldview of European settlers in America. Immigrants leaving Europe went across the ocean not only in the hope of a better life, but often driven by the desire to create a "new society", unlike the European one, free from the fetters of feudalism. The very name "New World" (as an antithesis to the "Old World") became a symbol: it merged the desire of yesterday's European peasant to gain a foothold on the earth, the desire of the craftsman to get a higher salary, the intention of the persecuted puritan to realize his projects of the "city of God" on the new earth.
During the colonial period, America was seen as a refuge for those persecuted for the "true faith", Protestantism. At that time, the theological interpretation of American "exceptionalism" dominated. The chronicles and memoirs of the governor of New Plymouth W. Bradford, the first governor of the colony of Massachusetts Bay J. Winthrop and others were not just a story about the difficult years of the existence of the colonies, but aimed to show that the actions of the settlers were directed by God's providence. The idea of ​​"chosenness" was epistemologically connected with the Calvinist doctrine of predestination, which occupied a central place in the Puritan ideology... America seemed to be a place specially chosen by God to create the "New Zion". "We must keep in mind that we will be like a city on a hill, and everyone's eyes will be fixed on us," the head of the expedition J. Winthrop in his sermon "A Model of Christian Charity".
... many educators expressed the belief that in the United States everyone would be able to exercise a "natural right" to land, where property would be distributed evenly, and general well-being ensured for many centuries to come. Franklin was not alien to these thoughts; they were embodied in the writings of the American writer J. Crevecker, who saw in North America the embodiment of the Rousseauist utopia. Similar ideas were shared by the young Jefferson...
With independence, belief in America's "special destiny" became even more widespread. Socio-economic development of the United States in the first half of the XIX century. left the ground for utopian theories about a non-capitalist path. ... The colonization of the West gave rise to petty-bourgeois illusions and aspirations not only among the farmers, but also among the working class ("every worker - a farm"), led to the spread of various kinds of agrarian utopias. The latter were especially vividly expressed by the national reformers of the 40s of the 19th century. - D. Evans, G. Kriege and others. They demanded to open access to "free" lands, to distribute them free of charge to all the needy and the poor. Evans believed that this measure would be a panacea for all the evils of capitalism.
...
The religious apologetics of "exclusivity" survived the colonial period, but since the Revolutionary War, the concept of US political "exclusivity" has come to the fore. The very creation of the republic in North America was seen not so much as an anti-feudal revolution, but as an anti-European one. Messianism was on the lips of the first US presidents. George Washington, assuming the presidency in 1789, spoke of "an experiment entrusted to the American people." The second president, J. Adams, saw in the settlement of the North American continent the embodiment of "a grandiose divine plan." From the very beginning, this trend of "American exceptionalism" was accompanied by the canonization of the "Founding Fathers" of the United States.
...
In an atmosphere of nationalist euphoria, the theme of the “chosenness” of the American people was further developed in the works of historians who dominated in the first half of the 19th century. romantic trend and was refracted in the poeticization of the struggle for independence, the hypertrophy of originality national development which developed into the doctrine of the "special mission" of the American people. A prominent figure in the Democratic Party and an adherent of "Jacksonian democracy", a leading historian of the romantic trend, the founder of the "early school" J. Bancroft for the first time drew not a disparate history of individual North American colonies, but a picture of the development of the entire American nation. He viewed the historical process from the positions of liberal romanticism, as a steady movement towards freedom. He divided world history into a number of phases depending on the degree of development of the ideas of freedom: the first lasted from the creation of the world to Socrates, the second - from ancient Athens to the advent of Christianity, the third - from the emergence of Christianity to the beginning of the struggle of the North American colonies for independence. These stages, however, were, in Bancroft's words, only a prologue to a more glorious era ushered in by the American Revolution.
In his work, Bancroft resurrected the myths of the time of the "Pilgrim Fathers" about the wanderings of the "chosen people", about their struggle for liberation from the "European hell", about settling on the promised American land, where "the demands of the time were realized under the sign of the creative forces of reason, feeling and nature, the political structure grew in amazing proportion, like a melody flowing from a lyre. The tone of Bancroft's work was such that the struggle of the first settlers for existence was portrayed as a triumph of higher ideals, as a crusade for democratic freedoms, that is, in the end, the idea of ​​\u200b\u200ba "special" historical path of the American people was emphasized. He put the United States at the head of world progress, arguing that the ideals of freedom, happiness and "equality of human rights" were put into practice here. Bancroft did not even take into account slavery, considering it "a small speck" in the radiant firmament of the republic. On the other hand, he was convinced that "our republic teaches Europe" and even spoke of the revolution of 1848 in Europe as "an echo of American democracy, which is now heard from France and other countries."

The idea of ​​the United States as a republic whose influence promotes the spread of freedom and justice throughout the world, firmly entrenched in the minds of many Americans, may not have initially gone beyond ordinary bourgeois nationalism. However, the latter soon degenerated into an expansionist dogma about a special US "debt". It was expressed particularly clearly in the Manifest Destiny doctrine put forward in the 1840s, the essence of which was the assertion that the fate of the United States was predetermined and destined to be a reformer and carry a special mission to the world. This doctrine, the core of which was the theory of "American exceptionalism", became a symbol of US foreign policy expansion.
In American historiography at the end of the 19th century, the idea of ​​"exclusivity" received a new coloring and argumentation. After the Civil War came the decline of the Bancroft school. New acute and complex social problems arose, for the solution of which Theosophy was too weak a support. At the same time, social thought was influenced by the successes of the natural sciences and their methods of scientific research. The main trends of American historiography have been influenced to some extent by European historical thought and especially by positivist philosophy. The core formed in the United States in the last quarter of the XIX century. The Anglo-Saxon school, which reduced "social evolution" to the development of political institutions, were those American historians who were educated at the universities of Germany and England. They borrowed there not only a more perfect method of working with sources, but sometimes also: chauvinistic historical ideas and concepts.
Historians of this school argued that the peoples of Anglo-Saxon origin created perfect constitutional institutions, combining the principles of individualism and strong state power, local self-government and federalism. The Anglo-Saxons, they claimed, carried over the Teutonic political legacy into the fifth century. to England, and the English Puritan colonists in the 17th century. - to North America. Ascertaining the genealogy of American political institutions, they found links in colonial America that connected them with the ancient Germanic tribal organization. Johns Hopkins University (Baltimore) became the center of the new direction, and Herbert B. Adams became its energetic propagandist.

Similar ideas were developed by other historians of the Anglo-Saxon school. The works of J. Fiske, who wrote: “In the deepest and broadest sense of the word, American history did not begin with the Declaration of Independence, or even with the founding of Jamestown or Plymouth, were especially famous. It goes back in its origin to the days when the brave Arminius in the forests of Northern Germany defeated the legions of the Roman Empire. Considering the urban self-government of colonial America, the formation of city assemblies, the formation of a federation of provincial assemblies, etc. in the spirit of "comparative politics", Fiske saw the roots of these institutions in the folkmote (a gathering of the inhabitants of the settlement) and the principle of representation among the ancient Germans. He tried to prove that on American soil there was a further development and improvement of Anglo-Saxon political principles. The combination of centralization and autonomy underpinned by the constitution of 1787 made the United States, according to Fiske, an example for all countries of the world.
The appeal of historians of the Anglo-Saxon school to Germanist theory and "comparative politics" was dictated by the desire to find a more convincing justification for the "exclusivity" of US constitutional institutions than that put forward by the Bancroft school. According to the ironic remark of the American researcher E. Savet, "the birthplace of American constitutional freedoms was transferred from the cabins of the Mayflower to the forests of Germany, and the primitive Teutons shared with the Pilgrim Fathers the honor of being the founders of the institutions of New England." Many historians of the Anglo-Saxon school did not stop there and proclaimed the "right" and "duty" of the United States to extend its "perfect" constitutional institutions beyond the borders of the country. These ideas, together with the traditions of American expansionism, became an integral part of the imperialist ideology that took shape in the United States at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries.
A new turn in the theory of "American exceptionalism" was given by bourgeois economism, which gained momentum in US historiography by the beginning of the 20th century... However, "economist" historians remained far from a scientific understanding of socio-economic processes; they did not analyze American history from the point of view of the formation and development of the capitalist formation; class division was replaced by the classification of people according to branches of the economy, "economic groups".

The influence of economic historians on the theory of "American exceptionalism" is ambiguous. Some of them absolutized the features of the US economic development and tried to supplement the theory of "exclusivity" with economic arguments. Others noted similar features of the socio-economic development of the countries of Europe and America and gave, albeit limited, criticism of the apologetic doctrine.

The first of the noted trends is vividly represented by the theory of "boundaries", put forward by one of the founders of the economic direction, F. Turner...
In contrast to concepts that consider US history as a natural continuation of European history, Turner held the idea that American history is primarily a product of the conditions of the New World; the consistent advance of the "border" to the West determined, in his opinion, the main character traits of the American people and its socio-political institutions.
“Free land,” he wrote, “ensures the establishment of equality among Western settlers and prevents the aristocratic influence of the East. Where everyone could have a farm, take it almost ready, economic equality was easily achieved, which entailed political equality.” Another most important consequence of the "border", according to Turner, is American democracy, which, in his opinion, "was not brought to Virginia on the Sarah Constant or to Plymouth on the Mayflower. It came out of the American forest and each time drew new strength in contact with the border. Deriving political democracy from the fragile and short-lived social equality that supposedly existed on the frontier, Turner argued that American democracy "is in stark contrast to Europe's efforts to create an artificial democracy through legislation."

The democratic system established on the "frontier" then spreads, according to Turner, to all the cells of "advanced society", renewing and reviving democracy in the East. "Border" acts in two ways. On the one hand, under the influence of the environment, social and geographical conditions on the "border", the old political ideas brought from the East die off and are transformed. On the other hand, "free" land influences social relations in the East as a "safety valve": "superfluous people" leave the US East Coast for the West. Gradually, however, social relations on the "border" become more complicated, "civilization" approaches it from the East. The development of capitalism undermines social equality on the "border" ... But the "border" does not die, but moves to the West, and in a new place, on an uninhabited "free land", social balance is restored and the basic ideals of the pioneers: individualism, democracy, nationalism and expansionism. Turner sang the "aggressive vivacity of a pioneer", "axe and winchester" as symbols of conquest.
So, the "border", according to Turner, healed the United States of economic, social and political ills, forging a very special, American way of life. He built his scheme when the echoes of the three-century colonization of the West were still felt in the social atmosphere, in everyday life, in customs, in literature. He completed a long tradition in which "free" lands were seen as a remedy for the evils of capitalism, a condition for harmony in social relations. Noting the nature of the ideas on which Turner relied, C. Beard many years later called him the spokesman for "agrarian traditions" in American history.
...
The agrarian utopia ended in failure, but the utopian ideas generated by the age-old struggle for land continued to exist. From utopian and they turned into apologetic. Illusions continued to live about the United States as a country of "limitless" opportunities, about equality on the "last frontier" ...
The influence of "border" theory on American historical thought has been profound and controversial. Many European economists and sociologists wrote about the role of "free" lands and the significance of colonization, but it was after Turner that the systematic development of the problems of the West began in American historiography.
... Turner ... artificially broke two trends in the development of capitalism - "in breadth" and "in depth", absolutizing the first of them. He portrayed the settlement and development of new territories as the main process in the history of the United States, creating a new version of "American exceptionalism." Turner saw the United States as a model for other countries: "We will not stop giving our sister Europe the basic ideas of America as the best way to solve difficult problems. We will go in the direction of Pax Americana and look for a path to peace on Earth for all people of good will."
A new situation has developed with the exhaustion of the "free lands" fund. In the 1890s, the Census Bureau announced the end of the "frontier". Turner said in this regard: "The free lands are exhausted. The material forces that gave life to Western democracy no longer exist," "the country is like a boiling cauldron." In search of new "safety valves" he turned first of all to "greater social control": "restriction of individual and class interests," he argued, "is necessary for the common good." He was ready to accept some of the demands of the populists and later sympathetically followed the reformist activities of T. Roosevelt and W. Wilson, with whom he had a long friendship.
... Another "safety valve" he saw in expansion and the search for new territories for colonization. Turner welcomed the US imperialist expansion at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. in Latin America and the Far East. On the whole, however, he failed to "substantiate" the thesis about the "exclusivity" of the United States under the new conditions. But some parts of his concept live to this day.

The most prominent representative of American bourgeois historical thought of the 20th century tried to resolve the contradictions of the historical scheme of the "theory of boundaries". Charles Beard, who placed "urbanization" and "urban dynamics" at the center of explaining US history. Beard saw the main driving force of the historical process in modern times in the development of industrial capitalism. If Turner believed that a person can find harmony and happiness in merging with nature, then Beard - in leaving her. Not a "border", but industrial development ("industrialism"), he believed, is capable of healing social contradictions. Byrd understood that as a result industrial revolution new social problems arose, primarily the contradiction between labor and capital. But all this, he believed, was just temporary difficulties, a kind of cost of progress. The complete victory of "industrialism" will smooth them out.
... The concept of "industrialism" largely predetermined the nature of Beard's interpretation of the most important events in American history, the main content of which he considered the struggle between agrarian and industrial interests. The social and political result of this "great rivalry" is the gradual smoothing out of class differences and the birth of universal democracy.
...Bird was the first American historian to call the civil war of 1861-1865. second American Revolution.
... Referring to the specifics of the development of the United States (the absence of a feudal hierarchy, the stability of the petty-bourgeois strata, the presence of vast "free" territories, etc.), he wrote that in the United States there is a particularly favorable ground for "industrialism", which resulted in "pure" capitalism and the "especially democratic" character of American political institutions. It is characteristic that this nationalist element of Byrd's conception was clearly revealed during the chauvinistic frenzy of the First World War. ... Everything in his works greater place occupies the theme of the "uniqueness" of the agrarian development of the United States and the high social mobility of Americans. In the final work, Beard attempted to synthesize Turner's thesis of territorial "frontiers" with the concept of "industrialism" ("new technological frontiers").
The "theory of American exceptionalism" - a pivotal one in the bourgeois ideology and historiography of the United States throughout its entire historical path - sensitively reacted to changes in the social situation within the country and its place in the world.
... Sinclair Lewis, ridiculing in "Main Street" the provincialism of one-story America, its self-satisfied belief in its own exclusivity, wrote: "Here is a town of several thousand inhabitants, among fields of wheat and corn, dairy farms and groves. This is America ... Home the street is the pinnacle of civilization. In order for this Ford to stand in front of a haberdashery, Hannibal invaded the Romans and Erasmus wrote his treatises on the monasteries of Oxford. What the grocer Ole Jensen says to the banker Ezra Stowbody must be law in London, Prague ... What Ezra Stowbody does not know and does not approve of is heresy, which is not worth knowing, which is not befitting to ponder.
The development of the theory of "American exceptionalism", especially after the Second World War, was marked by the main contradiction of our time - between socialism and capitalism. Having become the leader of the capitalist world, the United States announced its intention to assume the burden of "global responsibility" for the fate of capitalism. In the United States, they started talking about the advent of the "American century". The new interpretation of "American exceptionalism" had a pronounced anti-communist orientation. "Each conceptual conclusion of socialism is opposed by a corresponding conceptual position in Americanism," the left-wing American publicist L. Samson wrote back in the 1930s.
... In the realm of history, since the 1950s, the core concept of "American exceptionalism" has been the theory of "concerted interests." She proclaimed that American society, along its historical path, was distinguished by unity in fundamental issues socio-political structure and "organic continuity" of public institutions. The credo of the supporters of the theory of "consensual interests", formulated by R. Hofstadter, said that conflicts in American history have never touched on the problems of "property and entrepreneurship." The emphasis on unity and stability led to the fact that social conflicts were pushed into the shadows: the war for independence and the civil war of 1861 - 1865, the anti-monopoly movement of the late 19th - early 20th centuries, the class struggle during the "new course" of F. - D. Roosevelt.
A review of the entire history of the United States began, but special attention was paid to the colonial period and the war for independence, when, according to the concept of "consensus", the foundations of a special path for the American nation were laid. In this regard, the works of L. Hartz, D. Burstin and R. Brown are characteristic.
According to Hartz, the sharp class struggle in Europe was accompanied by the formation of various ideological systems that "infected" each other and served as the basis for the formation of more and more radical ideologies ("Whigism" gave rise to "Jacobinism", and the latter - "socialism"). Another thing is the New World. When the American colonies were founded, only one liberal-Lockean ideological "fragment" separated from English society. Transferred to the North American environment, it served as the basis for the creation of a value system that contained in the embryo the ideals of individualism, freedom and democracy. In accordance with these principles, a social order and a way of life were formed in America, radically different from European ones.

Another group of historians commonly referred to as neo-liberals, also based on the theory of "concerted interests", turned to
to the history of the United States of the XX century. These historians have sought to present American capitalism as a dynamic system that flexibly adapts its structure to the needs of social development. They did not deny the struggle in the United States between liberal and conservative ideologies, and sometimes even social contradictions (within the limits of general agreement on "fundamental issues").
The leading historian of the consensus school, R. Hofstadter, very realistically portrayed the acute social conflicts in the United States at the beginning of the 20th century, but then painted an idyllic picture of their happy resolution within the framework of the liberal tradition: dynamic leaders who came to power, using the power of the state, passed antitrust legislation and made adjustments into political foundations that democratize the political structure. Turn of XIX - XX centuries. eventually became the starting point of the "transformation of capitalism".
F. Roosevelt's "new course" and J. Kennedy's "new frontiers" were seen as further stages of liberal reformism, the origins of which lie in the "progressive era" of the early 19th century. In a word, even in the neoliberal version, the United States was presented as a country with a "unique" historical destiny.

The American publicist G. Green, analyzing the state of uncertainty that engulfed the United States, wrote: “National psychology and views were based on the belief that “our” capitalism was somehow special and better, more progressive and modern, capable of always providing more and more high levels social welfare... To be convinced now that the dream is crumbling and life forces us to take a different perspective is truly a trauma inflicted on the national psychology"

The concept of "American exceptionalism" was criticized not only by representatives of the left. Quite a few bourgeois economists, sociologists, and political scientists have also acknowledged the crisis of "Americanism." Burstin came to the conclusion that the "American Dream" has degenerated into an image, into a system of fictitious values ​​and false illusions. The forerunner of the "post-industrial era" D. Bell in the publication "The End of American Exceptionality" wrote: "The influence of the theory of American exceptionalism has noticeably weakened and melted along with the imperial possibilities and the loss of faith in the future of the country" 49 .

Disillusionment with contemporary America has led to a more critical approach to its past. Under the new conditions, the prestige of the "concerted interests" concept has also been shaken. Even its recent adherents were forced, like Hofstadter, to admit its unsuitability for solving many problems of US history. In an effort to get rid of the destructive presentism characteristic of the Cold War era and the elitist approach to interpreting the past, the eyes of many historians turned to the "new vision of history" promised by the "new scientific history" that emerged in the late 1950s under the influence of both socio-political factors, and the internal development of bourgeois historiography.
The "new economic", "new social" and "new political" schools appeared.

The socio-political crisis of the 1960s aroused the interest of many historians in spontaneous mass demonstrations in the past, in the "role of the crowd" in history. The main object of study of the "new social history" was ethnic relations, social and geographical mobility of the population, immigration, demographic shifts etc. The works of these historians examine the life of immigrants and black Americans, the role of women. Rich material was provided by the "new workers' history" which developed within the boundaries of the "new social history";
At the same time, the point of view of the "new scientific history" is such that the rich new material contributes little to explaining the key problems of US history.
... "new scientific history", which proclaimed its most important task to debunk the myth of the conflict-free development of the United States, put forward by the theory of "concerted interests" (the main one in the concept of "American exceptionalism" in the post-war period), did not achieve its goal. It did not create a methodology for a new historical synthesis. The well-known American historian J. Nash characterized the general state of the "new scientific history" as "brilliant confusion"
In the last decade negative sides"new scientific history" are increasingly coming to the fore and leading to the forced return of a number of historians to the position of "American exceptionalism."

The late 1970s and early 1980s brought significant changes to the US political landscape. The influence of conservative tendencies has risen sharply, reflecting the shift to the right that has taken place in influential circles of the ruling class on key issues of domestic and foreign policy.
The conservative doctrine requires limiting state intervention in the economic and social spheres of the country's life, appeals to some timeless ideals and values ​​of "Americanism", focusing on the traditional individualistic ideology of private entrepreneurship

The historical ideas of neoconservative historians are not original. What is new, perhaps, is only an attempt to bring together various variants of "American exceptionalism" (statements about the social homogeneity of colonial America, the doctrine of the superiority of US political institutions, the theory of the salvific role of "free lands", an apology for the bourgeois reforms of the 20th century, etc.), to reduce them into one concept and proclaim it the foundation of the conservative tradition.
During its existence, American bourgeois historiography has come a long way. At all stages of the work of its leading representatives were permeated with the theory of "American exceptionalism." The latter changed over time, filled with different content. In the early stages of the development of the United States, the idea of ​​"American exceptionalism" also included elements of the "American dream" - the democratic aspirations of the people for freedom and equality. But the Pilgrim Fathers had already proclaimed the doctrine of the "chosen people," America's divine mission. The messianic doctrine was expanding, overgrown with new theories. At the turn of the XIX - XX centuries. she absorbed racist and social Darwinist ideas; now a "scientific" basis is being laid under it, like the "theory of stages economic growth" W. Rostow, "post-industrial society" D. Bell or "technotronic era" Z. Brzezinski. The dominant, however, remains, as before, the statement about the special and exclusive pioneering role of America, which is allegedly predestined to serve as an example for other peoples of the world in economic, social and moral terms.

The theory of "exclusivity" gave rise to a special ideological climate in the country. It has always influenced the conduct of US domestic and foreign policy. The myth of America as a promised land, capable of ending social troubles, influenced the formation of F. Roosevelt's "new course", J. Kennedy's "new frontiers", the "great society" proclaimed by L. Johnson. The impact of the theory of "exclusivity" on US foreign policy is even more clearly visible.

With the transformation of the United States into an imperialist power, this theory receives a new sound - the plans of American globalism are born.

The term "social strata" appeared in the 20th century. These social hierarchy units unite people with a certain set of traits and characteristics.

Social classes and strata

The layers are an instrument of social stratification - the division of society according to different criteria. Scientists have been studying this problem since ancient times. Social strata as a concept appeared in the 20th century. Prior to this, other units of hierarchy were common - castes and estates.

In the 19th century, the doctrine of social classes. This phenomenon was first studied by Adam Smith and David Ricardo - the classics of political economy. The class theory was most fully developed and revealed by the German scientist Karl Marx. Modern social strata have adopted some of the features of his teachings.

Dichotomous division of society

Social strata are characterized by classification according to several defining features. power, education, leisure and consumption. These indicators are also signs of inequality between different members of society.

There are several models for dividing the population into layers. The simplest is the idea of ​​dichotomy - the division of society. According to this theory, society is divided into masses and elites. This specificity was especially characteristic of the most ancient civilizations. In them, pronounced was the norm. In addition, in such societies, castes of the so-called "initiates" appeared - priests, leaders or elders. Modern civilization has abandoned such social constructions.

social hierarchy

According to the modern strata of society have certain status features that unite people. Between them there is a sense of connectedness and belonging to one community. At the same time, the layer indicators carry only the assessment “better - worse” or “more - less”.

For example, when it comes to education, people are divided into those who have graduated from school or university. Similar associations can be continued when talking about the income or career growth of the individual. In other words, the social strata of society have a strict vertical hierarchy. This is a kind of pyramid, at the top of which are the “best”. If, for example, we compare basketball fans and folklore fans, then their difference will not be vertical, but horizontal. Such groups do not fall under the definition of social strata.

The concept of status

The main category in the theory of social strata is status. It is he who is of key importance in the modern stratification of society. The current social strata of the population differ from the classes of the 19th century also in that a person is not tied to any group for life. What does it look like in practice? For example, if a boy was born in but at the same time studied well and, thanks to his talents, was able to achieve a high career position, then he certainly moved from one layer to another.

Status implies that the person who belongs to him must meet certain requirements. They concern the ability of a member of society to consume and produce goods. For the status, and hence for the social stratum, it is important to observe the lifestyle established as the norm.

Welfare and labor

The signs by which representatives of social strata are divided can be divided into several groups. For example, they are associated with economic situation person. This group includes the presence of private property, the size and types of income. In general, these signs can be described as the level of material well-being. According to this criterion, the poor, middle-income and rich strata are singled out. You can also give examples of low-paid and high-paid workers living in public housing, property owners, etc.

The concept of the social stratum touches upon the phenomenon of the division of labor. In this hierarchy, we are talking about the professional skills and training of a person. The work of each individual finds a different application, and it is in this difference that the next social stratum is reflected. For example, one can single out workers employed in agriculture, industry, service sector, etc.

Power and influence

Equally important in the social hierarchy are powers of authority. They are determined by the ability of a person to influence others. The source of such abilities may be a high position held or the possession of socially important knowledge. In this hierarchy, one can single out ordinary workers in a municipal enterprise, managers in a small business, or, for example, government leaders.

Signs of influence, authority and prestige stand out in a separate group. In this case, the assessments of others play an important role. This indicator cannot be objective, therefore it is very difficult to measure and designate it within some specific framework. According to this characteristic, one can single out well-known cultural figures, representatives of the state elite, etc.

Minor features

Above, the main features were described, according to which the modern stratification of society is built. However, in addition to them, there are secondary features. They do not have a decisive value, but also affect the position of the individual in the general hierarchy. What social strata are present in society to a greater or lesser extent does not directly depend on these traits. Their nature is supportive.

The ethno-national sign in different societies affects the position of a person to a different extent. In multicultural countries, this quality does not play a role at all. At the same time in modern world there are still enough countries where conservative national sentiments reign. In such societies, belonging to a foreign ethnic group can be a decisive factor in determining whether a person belongs to one or another social stratum.

Other such characteristics are gender, age, religious and cultural traits of a person. Their totality affects the social circle of the individual and his interests. It is also worth noting the sign associated with the place of residence. In this case, we are mainly talking about a big difference between townspeople and villagers.

People with specific social status

Belonging to a particular group in society also depends on certain qualities and psychological attitudes of a person. In this series, scientists distinguish a marginal position in society. It contains the unemployed, people without permanent place residence, refugees. In some societies, this may also include the disabled and pensioners, whose living conditions are markedly worse than the rest of the population. Such a social gap occurs in countries where there is an irresponsible state. If the authorities cannot provide the population with basic signs comfortable life, there will be more and more such marginals over time.

People with illegal behavior also have a specific status. These are citizens who have been convicted for their crimes. These include representatives of the criminal world, persons imprisoned in prisons and other correctional labor institutions. People who find themselves in a marginal or criminal group, as a rule, cannot climb the social ladder on their own or do not want to at all.

Questions and tasks to paragraph paragraph p.41

Question. Remember what two types of colonies were formed in the New World as a result of the Great geographical discoveries. What type of colonies and why was typical for Latin America?

The great geographical discoveries were accompanied by the creation of colonial empires (Spanish colonial empire, Portuguese colonial empire). This was the name given to the totality of colonial possessions belonging to one or another European state. In modern times, the concept of a colony was understood as a country or territory under the rule of foreign country and deprived of political independence.

Latin America (with the exception of Brazil) was part of the Spanish colonial empire.

item 1 questions and tasks to paragraph paragraph p.41

Question 1. Draw a diagram of the "Composition of the population of Latin America" ​​and explain why the policy of the Spanish authorities did not suit each group of Hispanics. What idea could, at least temporarily, unite all sections of the population of the Latin American colonies?

The composition of the population of Latin America: Indians, mestizos, mulattoes, sambos, Creoles, blacks. Dissatisfaction with the colonial order in the Spanish possessions was widespread: the land and mines were owned by the king, the church and the landowners. The Indians were serving compulsory labor service, worked for free in the mines. The people were heavily taxed.

The idea of ​​uniting all segments of the population is the recognition of the independence of their country.

Question 2. What, in your opinion, could serve as an impetus for the liberation struggle in Haiti in the 1790s?

The impetus for the liberation struggle in Haiti could have been the idea of ​​declaring an independent state free from slavery.

item 2 questions and tasks to paragraph paragraph p.43

Question. Based on the materials of the paragraph, fill in the table "Liberation movement in the Spanish colonies" and reveal the connection between this struggle and the political situation in Spain.

The reason for the defeat was the disunity of the liberation movement, disputes over the borders of new states.

p.3 questions and tasks to paragraph p.45

Question. Why do you think the rulers of independent Latin American states (S. Bolivar, A. Iturbide and others) established despotic power?

The rulers of the independent Latin American states established despotic power to unite the Latin American states.

item 4 questions and tasks to paragraph paragraph p.46

Question. What was the reaction of the monarchs of Europe to the events in Latin America? Why was it impossible for the Holy Alliance armies to intervene on this continent?

The US does not allow European countries to establish their own political order. European monarchs had to retreat. Latin American states have embarked on the path of independent development.

p.5 questions and tasks to paragraph p.48

Question 1. How did the US treat Latin American countries?

The United States helped prevent the re-enslavement of Latin America by European powers.

Question 2. On the map (p. 47), draw the border of the United States by the middle of the 19th century, focusing on the dates of the formation of new states. What provisions of the Monroe Doctrine allowed the United States to expand its territory at the expense of neighboring colonies?

The United States secured free access to the markets of Latin American states and expanded its own sphere of influence.

Questions and tasks for paragraph p.48

Question 1. On the map (p. 49), show the independent states of Latin America-and-U ki in the order of their liberation from the European metropolises. Why in the first half of the XIX century. in the zone of revolutionary European influence, first of all, was Latin America?

1804 - Haiti; 1811 - Paraguay; 1816 - La Plata; 1818 - Chile; 1819 - Columbia; 1821 - Peru, Mexico; 1823 - Brazil; 1825 - Bolivia; 1828 - Uruguay.

Latin America was part of the Spanish colonial empire, and therefore found itself primarily in the zone of revolutionary European influence.

Question 2. The interests of what segments of the population of Latin America were satisfied during the liberation struggle in the first half of the XIX century.? What contradictions remain unresolved?

In the course of the liberation revolutions in Latin America, the interests of the privileged strata of the population were not affected; landlord and church landownership was preserved.

1. Formulate the principle underlying the Monroe Doctrine.

2. How was this principle related to the interests and rights of the United States? What powers did the Monroe Doctrine give the United States in their foreign policy: a) with the countries of Europe and b) with the independent states of Latin America?

3. How, in your opinion, did the countries freed from colonial dependence react to the Monroe Doctrine? Why do you think so?

The presidential address put forward the principle of dividing the world into European and American system state structure, proclaimed the concept of US non-intervention in internal affairs European countries and, accordingly, the non-interference of European powers in the internal affairs of the countries of the Western Hemisphere. Declaring its neutrality in relation to the struggle of the Spanish colonies for independence, the United States at the same time warned the European metropolises that any attempt by them to interfere in the affairs of their former colonies in America would be regarded as a violation of the vital interests of the United States.

Questions and tasks for section 1

Question 1. The names of politicians in Europe and America in the first half of the XIX century. group according to their belonging to the forces of reaction or revolutionary movements: Alexander I, George Byron, Simon Bolivar, Napoleon Bonaparte, Charles X, Clemens Metternich, Charles Talleyrand, Heinrich Stein.

Reaction forces: Alexander 1; Napoleon; Talleyrand; Metternich; Charles

Forces of the revolutionary movement: Stein; Baron; Bolivar

Question 2. What was the impact of the French Revolution and the wars of France in the late XVIII - early XIX century. on the development of Europe and the world as a whole? What, in your opinion, are the main changes in the social and political life of Europe and Latin America caused by the revolutionary wars and the collapse of Napoleon's empire?

The French Revolution of the end had a huge impact on the rise of anti-feudal, anti-absolutist, national movements in European countries.

Under the influence of revolutionary events in France, the struggle for bourgeois transformations, national unity and independence of Italy intensified.

In the German states, the Austrian monarchy, the nobility, the monarchical courts were seized with panic and fear of the possibility of the revolution spreading.

French events affected Poland, where a powerful social and national movement broke out, as a result of which, in 1791, a constitution was adopted that abolished the election of kings.

On December 16, 1773, a theatrical protest was held in Boston, which went down in American history under the name of the Boston Tea Party. At the call of S. Adams, members of the organization "Sons of Liberty", dressed in costumes of Mohawk Indians, threw 342 boxes of tea belonging to the English East India Company into the sea. The formal basis for this action was the failure of the British exporter to pay American customs duties. Future US President John Adams, who usually displeasedly perceived the actions of an unorganized crowd, saw in this carefully organized and carried out action without excessive emotions the "dignity, greatness and sublimity" of American patriots. London regarded it as an undermining economic interests the mother country and causing serious damage to the company, which was already experiencing serious financial difficulties due to the boycott of English goods by the colonists (in particular, the boycott of tea led to the fact that its consumption in the colonies decreased from 1769 to 1772 by more than three times). The Boston Tea Party, in fact, marked the beginning of an active struggle for independence. It is natural that this event took place in the Massachusetts colony. The British authorities have long considered Massachusetts a "troublemaker", the center of the revolutionary movement. In the position and demands of the inhabitants of Massachusetts, they found a concentrated expression of the claims of all North American colonists to London. It was this that explained the fact that Massachusetts became a revolutionary center, to which representatives of other colonies began to adjoin, regardless of the interests of which segments of the population they reflected.

The retaliatory measures of the metropolis were not slow to follow - adopted by the English Parliament in 1774, the Boston port was closed by the Coercive Acts, four regiments of the English armed forces were introduced into Boston, and a state of siege was introduced in the city itself. City authorities were charged with the obligation to pay compensation in the amount of approx. £10,000 for a cargo of tea dumped into Boston Harbor. At the same time, in accordance with the Quebec Act (Quebec Act) of 1774, London decided to join Canada with a huge northwest territory for the Alleghens. This could not but cause indignation in the broad circles of the farming population of the colonies, who sought to move to the fertile western lands. In addition to purely material factors, for American Protestants it became absolutely unacceptable that this act of land was transferred to the French Catholics of Quebec.

The execution of sanctions against the "Boston rebels" was entrusted to the new governor of Massachusetts, General T. Gage. The realization that the fate of Massachusetts could soon await other North American colonies of Great Britain rallied them in a single determination to achieve independence.

First Continental Congress

On September 5, 1774, the First Continental Congress began its work in Philadelphia with the participation of 56 representatives of all the colonies, with the exception of Georgia. One of the seven Virginia delegates was George Washington. During the congress, which continued until October 26, requirements for the metropolis were formulated. The "Declaration of Rights" developed by the Congress contained a statement about the rights of the American colonies to "life, liberty and property" and a decision to resume the boycott of British goods in the event that the British crown refused to make concessions in its financial and economic policy.

The declaration also expressed the intention of a new convocation of the Continental Congress on May 10, 1775, if London remained adamant in its intransigence.

The retaliatory steps of the metropolis were not long in coming - the king put forward a demand for the complete subordination of the colonies to the power of the British crown, and the English fleet began to blockade the northeast coast of the American continent. General Gage was ordered to put down the "open rebellion" and enforce the Repressive Laws by the colonies, resorting to the use of force if necessary. The First Continental Congress, and especially the reaction of London to its decisions, convincingly demonstrated to the Americans that their strength lies in unity and that they should not count on the favor of the British crown and its condescending attitude towards their demands for independence.

Less than six months remained before the start of active hostilities of the War of Independence.

Control questions and tasks

What regions of the world were the first inhabitants of America?

Who was the New World named America after?

Which European is considered the discoverer of America?

Which countries initiated the European colonization of America?

When and by whom was the first European settlement in North America founded?

When did black slaves appear in America?

Who were the Pilgrims in early American history?

List the first colonies that arose on the territory of North America in the 17th century, which laid the foundation for the modern United States.

When did the Russians appear in North America? How did trade and economic relations develop between Russia and America?

Who were the first colonists of America according to the national and social composition?

Who are squatters?

Name the crops and manufactured goods that made up the main American exports in the 17th century.

US History: A Handbook for Universities

Eduard Alexandrovich Ivanyan

Foreword

Recently, the problem of creating new teaching aids and textbooks on the history of foreign countries has become especially relevant, since existing publications do not meet modern requirements for the quality of education and state educational standards of the second generation of higher professional education, approved by the Ministry of Education of the Russian Federation.

This publication is the first textbook on US history in Russian. For the first time in Russian educational literature, the main regularities were traced and the features of the historical development of the American state from the appearance of the first people in North America to the present (April 2003) were revealed. The stages of the formation of modern American society, the processes of modernization of its economic, social and political structures are analyzed in detail. A detailed description of US foreign policy is given, and the problems of American culture are also considered. Materials about prominent political and public figures of the USA are included. The structure of the book is determined by the chronological-problem principle. In the presentation of the material, the author tried to move away from tendentious approaches in assessing historical events, and at the same time - to avoid the "modernization" of the past.

The textbook is written on the basis of an analysis of extensive domestic and foreign scientific literature, taking into account the latest theoretical and methodological research, modern approaches to the study of modern and recent history of foreign countries. A wide range of historical sources was used: official documents, memoirs, publications in periodicals, statistical materials. Particular attention is paid to legislative acts. The publication contains extensive illustrative material (maps, reproductions of paintings and drawings, photographic documents) from international public property funds, as well as from the author's personal archive. Geographical names, names of literary works, documents, names, etc. are given in the author's translation.

US History is one of the books in the study kit, which also includes Reader on US History (2004). The historical documents and texts cited in the anthology are directly related to the course and are of great importance for the successful assimilation of the material.

The publication is intended for students of historical faculties of universities, pedagogical universities and institutes of foreign languages, where the course of modern and recent history of foreign countries is being studied, as well as for students of colleges, lyceums and humanitarian gymnasiums as study guide on country studies. In general, the book is intended for a wide circle of readers interested in the problems of history.

Introduction

Memories of my parents

The origin of Russian American studies as a special area of ​​regional studies took place in the second half of the 19th century. However, already at the end of the 18th - the first half of the 19th century. Americanists appeared in Russia, among which F. V. Karzhavin and P. P. Svinin can be attributed. Among the first Russian writers and poets who dedicated their works to America and figures of early American history are A. D. Kantemir, M. V. Lomonosov, A. P. Sumarokov, G. R. Derzhavin, I. A. Krylov, D. I. Fonvizina, A. N. Radishcheva, P. M. Karamzin, A. S. Pushkin and others.

In the second half of the XIX century. the number of researchers specializing in the United States in Russia is increasing. A prominent representative of the new scientific discipline was the jurist, Professor of Kharkov University D. I. Kachenovsky. Mining engineer and writer A. A. Skalkovskiy was distinguished by a wide range of interests and knowledge. Among others, he wrote the following books: “Mining legislation in the USA” (1876), “In the country of yoke and freedom: Traveling impressions” (1878), “Russian trade in the Pacific” (1883), “Foreign policy of Russia and the position of foreign powers » (1897). Economists and statisticians spouses I. I. Yanzhul and E. N. Yanzhul-Velyasheva are the authors of a number of works: “Production syndicates or business unions to regulate production mainly in the United States of North America”, “Teaching methods in primary schools USA", "American School: Essays on the Methods of American Pedagogy". They also own a large number of articles, including: “The Eden of Workers (American Statistics on American Workers)”, “A Comparative Essay on Primary Education in England, Its Colonies and the United States of North America”, etc. Historian, lawyer, sociologist M. M. Kovalevsky, is also the author of works on American constitutional law and the history of the US Constitution, local self-government and agrarian problems in the United States, including "What is Parliament?" (1906). Honorary citizen of Moscow, professor at Moscow University, philosopher, lawyer and historian B. N. Chicherin is the author of a political science course, sections of which are devoted to the United States after the Civil War. Professor of Moscow University, who lectured on constitutional law and political history of the United States S. F. Fortunatov, is the author of the two-volume work "Political Teachings in the United States" (1879). "Writer on political sciences" M. Ya. Ostrogorsky - the author of the study "Democracy and the Party System in the United States", published in 1903 in French, and in 1912 in New York in English, but not published in Russia during the life of the author. In 1927 and 1930 in Moscow, two volumes of his work Democracy and Political Parties, translated from French, were published. N. A. Borodin, a scientist and public figure, the author of the unique for his time work The United States and Russia (1915), can rightfully be attributed to the Americanists of a later period.

In the 19th century and during the first decades of the 20th century. no fundamental encyclopedic works on US history were published in Russia. The most complete information about the United States was contained in the articles "The United States of North America" ​​in the first edition of the Encyclopedic Dictionary of F. A. Brockhaus and I. A. Efron (1890-1907). The second edition of the dictionary was not completed, stopping in 1916 at the letter O.

Reference and informational articles "The United States of America", similar in scope and volume to articles in the publications of Brockhaus and Efron, were contained in three editions of the Great Soviet Encyclopedia (respectively 1926-1945, 1949-1958 and 1970-1978). The first fundamental reference book on the USA was published in 1942 under the editorship of F. N. Petrov, P. I. Lebedev-Polyansky and B. Yu. Slivker (2nd edition - 1946). The decision to publish this handbook was explained by the fact that “in the conditions of the Second World War and the liberation struggle of the peoples of the USSR against the Nazi invaders, wide circles of the Soviet intelligentsia, especially political workers, commanders and soldiers of the Red Army and Navy, show an increased interest in life foreign countries".

The heyday of American studies as a special area of ​​regional studies began in the USSR after World War II, which was largely facilitated by the allied relations of the war years between the USA and the USSR. However, fundamental research on the United States, including its history, began to appear in the USSR only in the 1960s-1970s.

In 1972, the reference book "The United States of America" ​​was published under the editorship of A. V. Anikin, in which the economic and socio-economic problems of the United States were mainly covered. In 1989, the fundamental encyclopedic reference book "Modern United States of America" ​​was published under the editorship of E. A. Ivanyan, in the creation of which St. 100 authors and which is the most complete collection of information about the modern United States as of the end of the 80s. 20th century In 1991, the collective monograph "The United States of America", dedicated to the US economy, was published. The first English-Russian linguo-cultural dictionary "Americana" was published in 1996 under general edition G. V. Chernova. The dictionary contains detailed encyclopedic information about the United States - more than 20 thousand articles on history, state, economic and social structure, literature, art, etc. It also includes data on prominent figures in American history, science and culture. In 1999, a similar dictionary by E. D. Tomakhin "USA" was published, containing St. 10 thousand dictionary entries.

However, neither in pre-revolutionary Russia, nor during the years of Soviet power, did there exist a domestic textbook on the modern or recent history of the United States, intended for students of higher educational institutions. His role, with varying degrees of success, was replaced by monographs: "Essays on the History of the United States: From the Discovery of America to the End of the Erazhdansky War" by A. V. Efimov (1955), two-volume "Essays on the New and Recent History of the USA" edited by E. N. Sevostyanov (1960) , “Essays on US History” (1956) and “Recent US History” by L. I. Zubok (1972), “Recent US History” by L. I. Zubok and N. N. Yakovlev (1972), “Recent US History” N V. Sivacheva and E. F. Yazkova (1972). Of particular note is the fundamental four-volume "History of the USA" edited by E. N. Sevostyanov (1983-1987) and the three-volume "History of Russian America" ​​edited by N. N. Bolkhovitinov (1997-1999), as well as the "Encyclopedia of Russian-American Relations: XVIII-XX centuries.» edited by E. A. Ivanyan. In addition, studies of American historians I. A. Belyavskaya, N. N. Bolkhovitinov, R. F. Ganelin, I. P. Dementiev, A. V. Efimov, R. F. Ivanov, E. A. Ivanyan, E. P. Kuropyatnik, V. I. Lana (Kaplan), V. L. Malkov, A. S. Manykin, Yu. M. Melnikova, V. A. Nikonova, V. A. Pechatnova, E. N. Sevostyanova, L. Yu. Slezkina, V. V. Sogrina, A. I. Utkina, A. A. Fursenko, B. M. Shpotova and others. All these works have made a significant contribution to the study of American history, but due to their volume or concentration on its individual stages or aspects, they could not serve as a basic textbook on US history.

It should be noted that most of these really significant works for their time were published several decades ago, which could not but affect their content. A feature of almost all studies was the obvious prevalence of ideologically colored, class approaches to the description and evaluation of certain historical events, the exaggeration of the role of the labor and communist movement in the political and public life of the United States, and the underestimation of the personal factor. As a result, readers developed an exaggerated idea of ​​the influence of the so-called objective course of historical development, i.e., the predetermination of the future, which meant the inevitable victory of the theory and practice of building a socialist society throughout the world. The new and especially recent history of the United States has often been interpreted as a chain of events that once again proves the historical doom of capitalism.

The author of this textbook, and he himself did not escape the 70-80s in his writings. ideological prejudice, characteristic of almost the entire generation of historians of that time, aimed to reflect as objectively as possible the history of the United States, including the events that preceded the formation of the American state. Consciously refraining from manifestations of subjectivity in assessing the events described, the author tried to provide students with a maximum of facts that would allow them to independently determine their attitude to certain events in American history.

Chapter I Early American History (before 1775)

America's Discoverers

Christopher Columbus (1451-1508)

John Cabot(Giovanni Cabot) (1450-1499?)

Amerigo Vespucci(between 1451 and 1454-1512)

Events and dates

First Americans

Information about the people who inhabited North America for many millennia before the appearance of the first immigrants from other parts of the world is very scarce. Scientific research, made possible by the advances in nuclear physics and the discovery of the carbon-14 isotope 1, helped to establish that people lived in America by the end of the 20th millennium BC. e. It is fairly certain that the first Americans - small groups of people from Northeast Asia - could appear in the Western Hemisphere after the end of the ice age, ca. 10-15 thousand years ago, having got to Alaska through the frozen or shallow Bering Strait, from where they began to move south into the depths of the American continent up to the Strait of Magellan and Tierra del Fuego.

The researchers suggest that at the same time the process of development of the southern part of the continent and from the west, where small groups of immigrants from Polynesia could get, was going on or could begin a little later. Both of them, with an indisputable right, can be considered the true discoverers of America, and due to the longest residence on the continent and its indigenous population.

The first inhabitants of North America - Indians and Eskimos as a whole for many centuries remained at various levels of the primitive communal system. The level of social development and culture of the most ancient civilizations - the Aztecs, Incas and Mayans, who settled in Central and South America, on the territory of modern Mexico, was much higher. In contrast, the tribes of the mainland of North America were extremely divided and periodically feuded with each other. Aliens arrived on the continent for many centuries, moreover, from different regions of the globe and in small groups, so they not only spoke different languages ​​(with the exception of the Eskimos and Aleuts of the same semantic group), but also differed in appearance. Even neighboring tribes differed from each other in their way of life and used sign language to communicate. They did not have their own written language, which explains the complete absence of documentary data about the life of the first Americans.

The most famous Indian tribes that left a noticeable mark on American history belonged to the Algonquian language group, which included the Abnaki, Mohegans (Mohicans), Narragansetts, Delawares and Powhatans, who occupied vast territories from Canada in the north to Virginia in the south and from the Atlantic coast to east to the Appalachian Mountains in the west. The lands of the northeastern confederation of five militant Iroquois tribes (Seneca, Cayuga, Onondaga, Oneida and Mohawk), politically the most organized of all Indian tribes in America, crashed into the possessions of the Algonquian tribes. Equally warlike were the Muscogee tribes who settled in the southeast of the modern United States and were part of the Creek confederation, including the Chickasaw and Choctaw tribes. To the north of them settled the Cherokee tribe. The only Indian tribe in North America that had a complex class system and an absolute monarchy was the Nachez. However, it should be noted that the Iroquois also had a fairly developed political system, and the Indians of the Kwakiutl tribe (northwest coast) formed a complex social order based on the principles of private property. Within its framework, there was a higher stratum of leaders and nobility who used slaves from among the captives and debtors. On the western coast of North America, Indian tribes (Tlingit, Gaida, and others) combined fishing with hunting. Social relations were characterized by the presence of patriarchal slavery, developed commodity exchange, property inequality. In the southwest, the most developed were the agricultural tribes of the Pueblo Indians (Keres, Hopi, Zuni, and others). They practiced irrigated agriculture, built large communal houses, mastered the art of pottery better than other Indian peoples of North America, and carried on a lively exchange with neighboring tribes. By the time of European colonization, the Pueblo Indians were in a state of transition to paternal lineage.

The total number of Indians who inhabited the modern territory of the USA and Canada, by the time of the discovery of America in 1492 by Christopher Columbus, was, according to various sources, no more than 1 million people (by the end of the 15th century, the population of Central and South America reached 15 million).

The Eskimos, whose first groups appeared in western North America c. 1 BC e., lived along the Arctic coast from Alaska to Greenland. Their main occupations were sea and land hunting, as well as fishing, depending on the climatic conditions in which they lived. In the social organization of the Eskimos, minor tribal features were preserved. Armed clashes between the Eskimos and Aleuts and neighboring Indian tribes were extremely rare.

Norse sagas tell of Greenlandic sailors who reached the northeast coast of America before the arrival of Polynesians on the Pacific coast of the continent. The most plausible story seems to be the accidental discovery of America in 1000 by the Greenland pirate Leif Erikson ("Red Eric") and his people. They were struck by the abundance of wild grapes growing there and called the land they discovered Vinland (Grape land). This first appearance of Europeans in North America, as well as the visit of the Greenlander Thorfinn Karlsefni and his people to the continent, began to be mentioned in the history of America only in the second half of the 20th century.

The first visits to the continent by Europeans did not have an impact on the life of the indigenous population - the Indians. The tribal way of life was seriously undermined centuries later - with the beginning of the colonization of America by Europeans.

Discovery of America by Europeans

The officially recognized discovery of America by Europeans was, in fact, chronologically secondary, since the development of the continent by immigrants from Asia and Polynesia, according to various sources, began 10-15 thousand years earlier.

The first Europeans in the New World were the Spaniards. The discovery of America by the Spaniards was preceded by numerous expeditions of Portuguese navigators to other parts of the unknown world - this is how the western coast of Africa, the Cape of Good Hope and India were discovered. In search of the shortest sea route from Europe to India, which promised fabulous economic benefits to the Portuguese and Spanish monarchs, America was discovered.

In October 1492, three Spanish caravels anchored off a small island they discovered in the Western Hemisphere, named Admiral Christopher Columbus San Salvador, who led the expedition, as the “Holy Savior”. During his four expeditions, which took place between 1492 and 1504, Columbus discovered, explored and mapped several Central American islands, being sure until the end of his life that "from Panama to the Ganges no further than from Pisa to Genoa", and not realizing that the New World was open to them.

At the end of the XV - beginning of the XVI century. several journeys were undertaken, as a result of which new regions of the Western Hemisphere were explored, including the Italian Giovanni Cabot (John Cabot) 2 in the service of the English king Henry VII in 1497-1498, the Portuguese Pedro Alvaris Cabral in 1500-1501 ., by the Spaniard Vasco Nunes de Balboa in 1500-1513, who was in the service of the Spanish king by the Portuguese Ferdinand Magellan in 1519-1521. In 1507, the Lorraine geographer Martin Waldseemüller proposed that the New World be called America in honor of the Florentine navigator Amerigo Vespucci. He participated in 1499-1504. on several expeditions to explore the east coast of South America and left accounts of these travels and the form of letters that have become world famous. Based on the information contained in Vespucci's epistolary heritage, the New World was considered for a long time to be the "fourth part" of the globe.

At the same time, the development of the coast of the Gulf of Mexico, as well as the Atlantic and Pacific coasts of the modern United States, began. In 1513-1521. Spanish conquistador Juan Ponce de Leon discovered the Florida peninsula, where four decades later, in 1565, the first permanent European colony arose and the oldest city in North America, St. Augustine, was founded. Other expeditions were later undertaken. The Spaniard Luis Vasquez de Ayonn and the Portuguese Esteban Gomez explored in the 20s. 16th century Atlantic coast of the continent. Hernando de Soto, traveling from Florida, reached the banks of the river in 1541. Mississippi and almost reached Oklahoma. Cabeza de Vaca passed through Texas and New Mexico to present-day Arizona, while Francisco Vázquez de Coronado entered New Mexico with his men. At the same time, the process of development of the California coast was going on, along the entire length of which, right up to the borders with modern Oregon, the Spanish flag began to flutter.

By the time the British and French began to colonize America, the Spaniards were well established in Florida and the American Southwest. By 1570, the Spanish king Philip II became the master of vast territories in the Caribbean, in Central and South America. He possessed a military power unsurpassed in Europe, which became possible primarily due to the untold wealth exported by the Spanish conquistadors from the New World. The power and influence of the Spaniards in the New World began to decline after the defeat in 1588 of the Spanish Invincible Armada, which undermined the maritime power of Spain and turned England into a leading maritime power.

French explorers appeared in the center of North America in the 17th century. However, already in 1524, the Italian Giovanni da Verazzano, who was in the service of the French King Francis (Francois) I, explored the Atlantic coast of America and discovered the current New York Harbor, and the Frenchman Jacques Cartier in 1534-1535. researched about. Newfoundland and walked along the river. St. Lawrence, the only French-controlled river leading into the interior of the continent. In the last quarter of the XVI century. explorers and merchants, who set off on a long journey from Quebec, reached the mouth of the Arkansas and Mississippi rivers and in 1682 laid the foundations of the colony, which they named Louisiana in honor of King Louis (Louis) XIV. At the beginning of the XVII century. the French began to settle in the territory of modern Canada, having founded in 1604 their first permanent settlement - Port Royal. In 1608, an outpost of French influence in North America was formed - the colony of Quebec.

English navigators first appeared in the territories of the modern USA and Canada in the 60s and 70s. XVI century., That is, several decades after the development of Mexico, the West Indies and South America by the Spaniards and the Portuguese. In 1584-1585. as a result of visits by English ships to the northeastern coast of the continent, a prototype of the future British colony arose, which was named Virginia in honor of Elizabeth I, the English virgin queen 3 . The territory for the formation of the first English settlement in the New World - the colony of Roanoke - was explored in 1584, but its foundation was delayed due to the hostility of the Native Americans and supply problems. In July 1587, the English navigator W. Raleigh made a new attempt to colonize America: an expedition was organized under the command of Captain J. White, whose members settled on about. Roanoke.

Information about the New World and its riches, contained in travel reports, travel diaries and personal letters of the Spanish, Portuguese and Italian discoverers of America, began to appear in Europe already in the first half of the 16th century. Several decades later, some documentary sources were translated into a number of European languages, including German, Polish and Russian.

Colonization of America by Europeans

The first English settlement in America appeared in 1607 in Virginia and was named Jamestown. The trading post, founded by members of the crews of three English ships under the command of Captain K. Newport, served at the same time as an outpost on the path of the Spanish advance to the north of the continent. The first years of Jamestown's existence were a time of endless disasters and hardships: diseases, famine and Indian raids took the lives of more than 4 thousand of the first English settlers of America. But already at the end of 1608, the first ship sailed to England, on board of which there was a cargo of wood and iron ore. In just a few years, Jamestown turned into a prosperous village thanks to the extensive plantations of tobacco previously cultivated only by the Indians laid there in 1609, which by 1616 became the main source of income for the inhabitants. Tobacco exports to England, which in 1618 amounted to 20 thousand pounds in monetary terms, increased by 1627 to half a million pounds, creating the necessary economic conditions for population growth. The influx of colonists was greatly facilitated by the allocation of a 50-acre plot of land to any applicant who had the financial means to pay a small rent. Already by 1620 the population of the village was approx. 1000 people, and in all of Virginia there were approx. 2 thousand people. In the 80s. 17th century tobacco exports from the two southern colonies of Virginia and Maryland4 rose to £20 million.

The virgin forests, which stretched for more than two thousand kilometers along the entire Atlantic coast, abounded with everything necessary for the construction of dwellings and ships, and the rich nature satisfied the needs of the colonists for food. The increasingly frequent calls of European ships into the natural bays of the coast provided them with goods that were not produced in the colonies. The products of their labor were exported to the Old World from the same colonies. But the rapid development of the northeastern lands, and even more so moving deep into the continent, beyond the Appalachian mountains, was hampered by the lack of roads, impenetrable forests and mountains, as well as the dangerous neighborhood with Indian tribes hostile to aliens.

The fragmentation of these tribes and the complete lack of unity in their sorties against the colonists became the main reason for the displacement of the Indians from the lands they occupied and their final defeat. The temporary alliances of some Indian tribes with the French (in the north of the continent) and with the Spaniards (in the south), who were also worried about the pressure and energy of the British, Scandinavians and Germans advancing from the east coast, did not bring the desired results. The first attempts to conclude peace agreements between individual Indian tribes and the English colonists who settled in the New World also turned out to be ineffective.

European immigrants were attracted to America by the rich natural resources of the distant continent, which promised rapid material prosperity, and its remoteness from the European citadels of religious dogmas and political predilections 6 . Not supported by governments or official churches of any country, the exodus of Europeans to the New World was financed by private companies and individuals, driven primarily by an interest in generating income from the transportation of people and goods. Already in 1606, the London and Plymouth companies were formed in England, which actively engaged in the development of the northeast coast of America, including the delivery of English colonists to the continent. Numerous immigrants traveled to the New World with families and even entire communities at their own expense. A significant part of the new arrivals were young women, whose appearance was met with sincere enthusiasm by the unmarried male population of the colonies, paying the cost of their "transportation" from Europe at the rate of 120 pounds of tobacco per head.

Huge, hundreds of thousands of hectares, land were allocated by the British crown to the representatives of the English nobility as a gift or for a nominal fee. Interested in the development of their new property, the English aristocracy advanced large sums for the delivery of their recruited compatriots and their arrangement on the lands received. Despite the extreme attractiveness of the conditions existing in the New World for newly arriving colonists, during these years there was a clear lack of human resources, primarily for the reason that only a third of the ships and people embarking on a dangerous journey - two a third died on the way. The new land was not distinguished by hospitality either, meeting the colonists with frosts unusual for Europeans, severe natural conditions and, as a rule, the hostile attitude of the Indian population.

At the end of August 1619, a Dutch ship arrived in Virginia, bringing the first black Africans to America, twenty of whom were immediately bought by the colonists as servants. Negroes began to turn into lifelong slaves, and in the 60s. 17th century slave status in Virginia and Maryland became hereditary. The slave trade became a regular feature of commercial transactions between East Africa and the American colonies. African chieftains readily traded their men for textiles, household goods, gunpowder, and weapons imported from New England 7 and the American South.

In December 1620, an event took place that went down in American history as the beginning of the purposeful colonization of the continent by the British - the Mayflower ship arrived on the Atlantic coast of Massachusetts with 102 Calvinist Puritans, who were rejected by the traditional Anglican Church and did not later find sympathy in Holland. These people, who called themselves Pilgrims 8, considered the only way to preserve their religion to move to America. While still aboard a ship crossing the ocean, they entered into an agreement between themselves, called the Mayflower Compact. It reflected in the most general form the ideas of the first American colonists about democracy, self-government and civil liberties. These notions were developed later in similar agreements reached by the colonists of Connecticut, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island, and in later documents of American history, including the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States of America. Having lost half the members of their community, but surviving in a land they had not yet explored in the harsh conditions of the first American winter and the subsequent crop failure, the colonists set an example for their compatriots and other Europeans, who arrived in the New World already prepared for the hardships that awaited them.

After 1630, at least a dozen small towns arose in Plymouth Colony, the first New England colony that later became the colony of Massachusetts Bay, in which newly arriving English Puritans settled. Immigration wave 1630-1643 Delivered to New England approx. 20 thousand people, at least 45 thousand more, chose the colonies of the American South or the islands of Central America for their residence.

Over the course of 75 years after the appearance in 1607 on the territory of the modern United States of the first English colony of Virginia, 12 more colonies arose - New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Northern Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia. The credit for founding them did not always belong to subjects of the British crown. In 1624, on the island of Manhattan and Hudson Bay [named after the English captain G. Hudson (Hudson), who discovered it in 1609, was in the Dutch service], Dutch fur traders founded a province called New Netherland, with the main city of New Amsterdam. The land on which this city developed was bought in 1626 by a Dutch colonist from the Indians for $24. The Dutch never managed to achieve any significant socio-economic development of their only colony in the New World.

After 1648 and up to 1674, England and Holland fought three times, and during these 25 years, in addition to hostilities, there was a continuous and fierce economic struggle between them. In 1664, New Amsterdam was captured by the British under the command of the king's brother Duke of York, who renamed the city New York. During the Anglo-Dutch War of 1673-1674. The Netherlands managed to restore their power in this territory for a short time, but after the defeat of the Dutch in the war, the British again took possession of it. From then until the end of the American Revolution in 1783 from r. Kennebec to Florida, from New England to the Lower South, the Union Jack flew over the entire northeast coast of the continent.

The development of North America by Russians

Until the end of the XVII century. there were practically no contacts between Russians and Americans (rumors and legends about the appearance of the first Russian settlers in Alaska already in the 16th century remain undocumented). Russia joined the process of developing North America later than European countries.

The beginning of the discovery of new territories by Russian sailors was laid in 1725 during the First Kamchatka expedition of Vitus Bering, undertaken on behalf of Peter I, as a result of which the strait, later named after him, separating Asia from America was discovered. In 1732, the Siberian navigator Mikhail Gvozdev on the ship "St. Gabriel" went to conquer the Chukchi who inhabited the eastern coast of Siberia, reached the "Great Land" (the territory of Alaska) in the area of ​​\u200b\u200bthe modern Norton Sound Bay and landed with a team on one of the Diomede Islands previously discovered by Bering. As a result of Gvozdev's research, the shores of the Bering Strait were mapped for the first time. In 1733, at the initiative of the Russian government and the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences, the grandiose Second Kamchatka Expedition of V. Bering - A. I. Chirikov began, as a result of which new fur-rich territories in Alaska were discovered.

Emelyan Basov, a sailor from Nizhnekamchatka, convinced of the rich prospects for fur trade in the lands discovered by Bering and Chirikov, undertook in 1743-1747. together with the Moscow merchant Andrei Serebrennikov and the Irkutsk merchant Nikifor Trapeznikov, several expeditions. He reached the islands of the Aleutian ridge, where he obtained a huge amount of furs. His name and the name of his ship "St. Peter "named two bays on about. Medny - Basov Bay and Petra Bay. The example of the Russian fisherman who gained an impressive fortune was followed by other merchants and sailors who reached the shores of Alaska and the American continent: Andrey Tolstykh, who discovered the islands named after him Andreyanovsky (c. 1743); Bering's expedition member Mikhail Nevodchikov, who discovered the Near Islands, so named because of their proximity to the coast of Siberia (1745); Andrei Serebrennikov, who equipped the expedition that discovered the Rat Islands group (1753); Stepan Glotov, who in 1759 covered the distance from Okhotsk to about. Kodiak, i.e. approx. 2500 miles; Gavriil Pushkarev, who soon after Glotov landed on the Alaska Peninsula. In 1764, by order of Empress Catherine II, a sea expedition was undertaken to explore Alaska under the command of Lieutenant Sind, which lasted four years. In 1764, two ships under the command of P.K. Krenitsyn and M.D. Levashov were also equipped to explore the islands of the Aleutian ridge. In 1772, by order of the Siberian Governor-General, the administration of the Aleutian Islands was transferred to the jurisdiction of the commander of the Russian garrison, Bolsheretsk (Kamchatka).

In 1781-1783. G. I. Shelikhov "with comrades" made several sea voyages with the aim of establishing a fur trade with local tribes in the Aleutian Islands and Alaska. As a result of one of these campaigns (1783), the first permanent Russian settlement arose near the modern city of Kodiak. As a result of the research conducted by the expeditions of Krenitsyn-Levashov (1764-1771) and I.I. Billings - Mr. A. Sarychev (1785-1795), an inventory of all the Aleutian Islands was completed, more than 60 maps and plans of Kamchatka, the Aleutian Islands, Chukotka and coasts of North America. This secured Russia's priority to open islands and ensured the safety of Russian sailings to the shores of the land called Russian America. By the beginning of 1780, 5 large Russian companies were operating in Alaska and the Aleutian Islands, receiving huge profits. In 1799, at the direction of Emperor Paul I, the Russian American Company (RAC) was created, which was awarded the monopoly right to trade in Russian America.

colonial period

The first colonists of North America were not distinguished by either the unity of religious beliefs or equal social status. If the Mayflower pilgrims who founded the Plymouth Colony were staunch Calvinists and mostly poor, the colonists who arrived in the New World with the second ship and founded the Massachusetts Bay colony in 1630 were wealthier people. The Pennsylvania colony was founded by English Quakers led by W. Penn, but shortly before the start of the War of Independence in 1775, at least a third of the population of Pennsylvania was already made up of Germans (mostly Lutherans) 9 , Mennonites and representatives of other religious beliefs and sects. English Catholics, led by J. Calvert (Lord Baltimore), settled in the Maryland colony; in South Carolina, received together with North Carolina by the favorites of King Charles (Charles) II, the French Huguenots settled, moving here from Pennsylvania and Virginia and founding New Orleans in 1718. The Swedes settled in Delaware, the Polish, German and Italian artisans preferred Virginia.

The active development of Pennsylvania by immigrants from Germany greatly disturbed Benjamin Franklin, who wrote in 1755: “Why should Pennsylvania, founded by the British, turn into a colony of foreigners, who will soon be so numerous that they will begin to Germanize us instead of being anglicized they"(Italics B. Franklin. - Auth.). In the vanguard of the colonist masses, who moved to conquer the lands beyond the Allegheny Mountains, were the Irish and Scots. The Irish were the first immigrants who experienced the hostility of the "Americans" who had already felt themselves masters in the New World.

Widespread among the early colonists was hostility towards non-Christians. The colony of Massachusetts Bay was distinguished by particular religious intolerance, the zealots of Puritanism from which denied freedom of speech and the right to vote to the Gentiles. Obsessed with the idea of ​​centralized religious control over society, the Puritans intended to create a Calvinist state-church in America and severely suppressed the attempts of the Anglican Church to gain any noticeable influence in the colonies. They resorted, if necessary, even to the expulsion to England by the next steamship voyage of violators of the established order. The clearest manifestation of the religious intolerance of the first colonists was the law adopted in Massachusetts, which provided for the death penalty for heresy.

Among the passengers of ships arriving in the New World, there were many criminals - murderers, robbers, thieves, rapists, who were offered a choice by the courts of their countries between imprisonment or expulsion to a distant and seemingly harsh continent. A special decision of the English Parliament even legalized the expulsion overseas of "tramps, idlers and beggars by vocation", as well as criminals sentenced to imprisonment for a term of 7 to 14 years. The passengers of these ships were often and forcibly evicted from the metropolis persons who represented a social or political danger - an "unreliable element". As a result, in the American colonies, mainly in Maryland and Virginia, it turned out to be approx. 50,000 convicted criminals, from among whom the farmers-colonists recruited hired workers. They cost their masters less than even black slaves. Social inequality, which seemed inherent only in the countries abandoned by the colonists, manifested itself in full force already in the first years of their life on the new earth. The need to cover transportation costs for moving to America, advanced by colonial carriers-ship-owners - the Virginia Company or the Massachusetts Bay Company, turned immigrants into indentured servants, forced to work for their creditors for mho-mix years. Some of them (redemptioners), after the payment of debts with interest, could rely on a small plot of land for a purely symbolic fee (by the end of the 17th century, an acre of land and the Carolinas cost one penny). From this category of colonists, who became "white slaves" 10 for 5-7 years, the future farmers and workers of America were formed over the years.

The presence of vast areas of free land has led to the widespread squatting 11 - unauthorized settlement of land that has not yet been measured and not announced for sale by the poor. On the one hand, squatting contributed to the development of farms, but on the other hand, it led to endless clashes between the colonists and the Indians. The introduction by the metropolis of a ban on the seizure of undeveloped lands declared the property of the king laid the foundation for the social unrest that began in a number of colonies. Only in the 30s and 40s. 19th century the US Congress passed laws giving squatters the pre-emptive right to purchase the land they occupied at the minimum price and before they are declared for open sale.

The colonists often found themselves defenseless against Indian raids, one of which served in 1676 as the impetus for an uprising in Virginia, known as "Bacon's rebellion." The colonist movement, headed by the planter N. Bacon, demanded protection from the Indians, supplementing their claims with the requirements of full accountability of the authorities in spending public funds and reducing the tax burden. The uprising ended without results after the unexpected death of Bacon from malaria and the execution of 14 of his most active associates, demonstrating, however, the colonists' desire for self-assertion.

The population of the English colonies in America differed markedly in national traditions and culture, but was united by common laws and the English language officially adopted in the territory of their residence. The colonists also differed significantly in their occupation, which was associated with the natural and climatic features of the territories they inhabited. In the southern colonies (Maryland, Virginia, North and South Carolina and Georgia), located on vast and fertile lands, large plantations were formed. They specialized in the cultivation of rice, indigo, 12 cotton and tobacco - agricultural products that were in guaranteed demand in the British metropolis (in terms of the value of the product produced, tobacco always occupied the first place). The owners of these lands - large planters, and later slave owners, gradually turned into a decisive economic and then political force in the region, which, however, was largely economically dependent on the metropolis.

In the central colonies (New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Pennsylvania), located on the fertile lands of the northeast coast, small-scale farming and home crafts flourished, which in the second half of the 17th century. began to be gradually replaced by manufactory with elements of capitalist management. The colonists, who had accumulated money on the trade in home-made products, began to invest in its expansion and go out with their goods, first to the domestic, and eventually to the foreign market.

Potatoes, wheat, corn, rye, oats, barley, and other grains were the main crops grown on the less fertile and smaller land of the northeastern New England colonies (New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut). Due to the natural features of this region, its rural population was forced to engage in fishing and trade. In the cities of these colonies, American industry began to emerge on the basis of shipyards, as well as American foreign and intercolonial trade began to develop on the basis of merchant ships manufactured here. In the same region, the American big bourgeoisie began to form. She felt politically relatively independent of London, although her economic success still continued to depend on the British metropolis.

One of the signs of the colonists' serious attitude to their future in the new land was the attention paid to the education of the younger generation of Americans. Already in 1620, the first public library arose in Virginia, the funds of which were books donated by English landowners. New England was distinguished by increased attention to education issues, where at least 130 students and graduates of English universities moved before 1646. As a result, for every 40-50 families there was at least one of these highly educated, according to the concepts of that time, people. From their number the first teachers of the first American schools began to be appointed. The future system of education was laid in the Massachusetts Bay colony - in 1635 the first Latin school was founded in Boston, and the local law (1642) in the colony established fines imposed on parents for neglecting the education of their children 13 . And in accordance with another law (1647), in settlements with a population of at least 50 families, schools began to be created in which the basics of general and agricultural knowledge were taught, and in towns (at least 100 families), elementary schools arose in which Latin was taught. In subsequent years, similar laws were passed in Connecticut (1650), Plymouth Colony (1671) and New Hampshire (1689). In 1636, in Boston, which was rapidly becoming the cultural, business and maritime center of the entire northeast coast, the first private institution of higher education in America, Harvard (parochial), was founded at the expense of the colonial community, along with funds bequeathed by the priest J. Harvard. college. In 1638, the first colonial printing press was founded in Cambridge (Massachusetts). Among the immigrants who arrived in this region from the metropolis, educated people were increasingly encountered - lawyers, doctors, clergymen, teachers, who made up the elite of American society, in many respects copying the long-established political experience and cultural traditions of "good old England". According to available statistics, the literacy rate of New Englanders reached in 1640-1700. 95%, while in Virginia literacy among the male population did not exceed 54-60%. The second college (Anglican) was named the College of William and Mary (William and Mary College) in honor of King William (William) II and Queen Mary (Mary). It was founded in 1693 in Williamsburg (Pennsylvania). By the beginning of the War of Independence, nine colleges had already been opened in the North American colonies, including Yale (1701) and New Jersey (1746), later renamed Princeton.

The attention paid by the descendants of the first pilgrims to issues of culture and education was also reflected in the first religious-philosophical, geographical and historical works that came out from the pen of authors who did not yet have a mature literary skill, among which John Smith, John Cotton, Thomas Morton are worthy of mention. , Nathaniel Ward, Thomas Hooker, John Eliot, Mather's father and son - Increase and Cotton, William Bradford, John Winthrop, Roger Williams and others. In the middle of the 17th century. in the colonies, the first poetic works of predominantly religious content appeared, the authors of which were Michael Wigglesworth, Ann Bradstreet, Edward Taylor, Jonathan Edwards.

The development of the colonies was accompanied by continuous wars with the Indians, who desperately resisted the unrestrained advance of the colonists deep into the continent. Separate skirmishes resulted in wars that lasted for years. The first big war, which began with the killing of 347 white colonists by the Indians, lasted a total of 12 years (1622-1634). It was followed by the Pequot War (1636-1637), the war of "King Philip" (1675-1677), the war with the Indians of the Tuscarora tribe (1711-1712), etc. They were fought until the end of the 19th century. and ended only after the formation of reservations, which by legislative means strictly determined the area of ​​Indian settlements in the United States. Indian wars were sometimes provoked and supported by England, France or Spain, who were interested in maintaining hostile relations among the Indian tribes themselves and in complicating their relations, first with the American colonists, and later with the government of the United States. As a result of the wars with the Indians, more than ten cities of New England were partially or completely destroyed, the losses among the colonists reached a thousand people.

The discrepancy in the time of formation of the colonies and the unevenness of their settlement, combined with the heterogeneity of the social and religious composition of their population, led to differences in the political structure of the colonies and their relationship with the mother country. Along with the provinces that were directly subordinate to the authority of the British crown and governed by governors appointed by London (New York, New Hampshire, New Jersey), colonies were formed. Their political and economic life while maintaining overall control over the English government, it was largely coordinated by governors from among private individuals who received patents for land ownership of these territories and trade licenses from the hands of the king (Maryland, Pennsylvania). The heads of local administrations could, as a rule, be British, while the members of the administrative councils were Americans from the upper strata of American society. Legislative assemblies functioned in all colonies - assemblies, whose members were elected by the adult male population, who met the requirements of the property qualification. The assemblies had the right to represent the public opinion of the colony and manage its finances. For all the outward democratic nature of the political institutions of the colonies, the real power in them belonged to representatives of the propertied strata of the population, key administrative posts were handed out to proteges of royal governors or owners of the colonies.

The full power in the colonies of the American South (Virginia, North and South Carolina) was possessed by large planters and slave owners. They took key positions as judges, police chiefs and members of legislative assemblies. Persons who did not own land (and their number included masses of "white slaves", artisans, servants, hired workers, overseers of black slaves, etc.) did not have the right to vote. The development of slavery on their territory gave the southern colonies the specific features of a strictly regulated society inherent only to them, contributed to the spread of the ideas of separatism, and eventually turned the American South into a kind of state within a state. In 1664, the Maryland colony passed a law according to which the slavery of black slaves was fixed forever. Thus, the application of the provisions of English case law to them, which provided for the granting of freedom to slaves under certain conditions (in particular, when they converted to Christianity), was excluded. In Rhode Island and Connecticut, a people's self-government was formed, which was also headed by representatives of the propertied strata of the population. In all the colonies, except New York, legislatures were formed, elections in which were held on the basis of a high property qualification. In all the colonies except Virginia, North Carolina, and Georgia, the legislatures provided funds for the pay of governors and, therefore, exercised overall control over their activities, nullifying their independence as royalty in the North American colonies.

The struggle for power in many colonies was associated with the right to receive material benefits and often led to the revision by London of royal patents for their management - negligent or showing excessive independence of private owners, including companies, could be deprived of ownership, as a result of which the lands were again transferred under royal control. Thus, the Virginia Company, which ruled the colony of Jamestown in 1612-1624, was deprived of its rights by royal decree. The struggle of the metropolis against manifestations of the political and economic activity of the colonies escalated every year. It included: the purchase from the Indians of lands located west of the Allegheny Mountains and their unauthorized development, the development of industries competing with the metropolis, the export of industrial and agricultural products, as well as raw materials, bypassing English intermediaries, the import of industrial goods necessary for the colonies from other countries and even more so on merchant ships that do not belong to English shipowners. The natural reaction of London to the dangerous developments in the American colonies was an attempt to strengthen the power of the governors in them. Acting in accordance with metropolitan instructions, New England Governor E. Andros issued a decree in 1688 limiting the number of citywide meetings in localities to one meeting per year and placing the local militia under his personal control.

Pennsylvania had a special status. It was named after the late English Admiral W. Penn, whose son and full namesake W. Penn Jr. received in 1681 the title to the vast fertile lands of the territory from the hands of Charles (Charles) II in payment for the royal debt to his father. The master rarely visited his charges, but it was largely due to his influence that the predominantly Quaker colony became a model of skillful self-government, peaceful relations with the Indians, and purposeful attraction of new colonists from Ireland and England.

The English "Glorious Revolution" of 1688, which eliminated the feudal system in the country, laid the foundation for capitalist relations and accelerated the formation of a common English market, spurred the development of social processes in the colonies. An uprising broke out in New York under the leadership of the German colonist J. Leisler 15 . Although it was soon suppressed, and Lasser himself executed, in 1691 a legislative assembly was convened in the colony - an assembly, and New York joined the colonies with an elected government.

Trade and economic relations of the colonies

Foreign trade relations with Holland, which acted as a commercial intermediary in the trade of the colonies with Europe, faced active resistance from England. Beginning in 1651 (1660, 1663, 1672, 1696 and later), a series of laws were passed, known in history as the Navigation Acts, and intended to establish complete metropolitan control over the trading operations of the American colonies. They were deprived of opportunities for direct trade with other countries. They were allowed to trade only through the mediation of England, to export their goods only on English merchant ships and exclusively through British ports. Similarly, the colonies imported the foreign commercial products they were interested in only with the use of English merchant ships or merchant ships of the countries producing these products (that is, without the participation of Holland). After the Anglo-Dutch Wars of 1649-1674. ended with the defeat of Holland and the establishment of the undeniable naval superiority of England on the seas, the control of the mother country over the foreign trade of the colonies became even more stringent. As early as 1660, a list of goods (including tobacco, sugar, indigo) was drawn up that could be exported exclusively to England. The list of such products has expanded over the years. Adopted in 1767, the Law on Navigation prescribed that all goods exported by the colonies to European countries (located north of Spain) must first go to England and only from there be exported to the countries of destination. The colonies responded to the restrictions imposed by the English government on their freedom by expanding the smuggling trade and intensifying piracy, which was traditionally practiced by legendary English sailors and was adopted by militant patriots who made huge fortunes on robbery on the high seas.

As a result of the laws adopted by the mother country, restricting the freedom of trade of the colonies, their trade balance deficit grew and there was a sharp shortage of financial resources in the form of cash. In 1737, Connecticut began minting the first copper money. But the attempts of the colonies to start issuing their own paper money were suppressed in 1751 by London, which at first allowed them to print their banknotes only in conditions of war or emergency, and in 1764 categorically and finally forbade them to do so.

At the end of the XVII - the first half of the XVIII century. in England, numerous legislative acts were adopted aimed at further infringing on the economic interests of the American colonies and turning them into a raw material appendage of the metropolis. In 1699, the English Parliament passed the Wool Act, which introduced export restrictions for Ireland and forbade the American colonies to produce and export wool, woolen thread, wool products, in the export of which England itself was interested. While allowing the colonists to breed sheep and produce homespun cloth, London prevented the development of its own commercially oriented weaving industry in the colonies. But the adoption of this law was only a harbinger of new severe restrictions. Colonial artisans had long mastered the production of American beaver felt hats and successfully exported them to Europe and the West Indies. In 1732, in the interests of English hat manufacturers, the Hat Act was passed by the British Parliament, which prohibited the export of American-made hats not only to Europe, but also from one colony to another. The same law allowed American hatmakers to have no more than two apprentices, which prevented the development of a competitive hat industry in the colonies, which was dangerous for the mother country. Another blow was dealt in 1750 to the rapidly developing American iron industry - the English Parliament passed the Iron Act, which banned the construction of blast furnaces, rolling plants and the construction of iron processing enterprises in the colonies. The iron ore mined in the colonies, the produced rod iron and pig iron were subject to duty-free importation into the metropolis in the form of raw materials for the English metallurgical industry. American tobacco manufacturers suffered serious losses. Under the Navigation Act, tobacco produced in the colonies (in the amount of 100 million pounds) was subject to export to England, but the metropolis itself was able to consume no more than 4 million pounds. The rest of the tobacco was re-exported by England to other countries of continental Europe at a profit for itself, but not for its true producers. As a result of the discriminatory policy of the mother country, the trade deficit between Great Britain and its North American colonies reached in 1700-1773. a huge amount - more than 20 million pounds.

Despite such artificial restrictions, the growth of the productive capacity of American industry was not in doubt. In particular, in 1775 there were more ironworks in the colonies than in England and Wales combined. Small family businesses provided 75% of the colony's needs for textiles. New England shipyards regularly launched ships essential to the American merchant and fishing fleets, from ocean-going ships to small barges needed for intercolonial trade and inland shipping. By 1765, these shipyards provided jobs for 10 thousand shipbuilders, sailors and port workers in the region. Food products from the states of the American South, including pork, dried fish, lumber, and corn, were exported from New England ports to Great Britain, the West Indies, and even Africa. American merchant ships returned to their homeland with finished textiles, primarily fine wool and linen, as well as ginger, molasses 16 and new slaves. Before the start of the War of Independence, the foreign trade turnover of the colonies was 1/7 of the entire trade turnover of the mother country. In May 1763, the first ship to make a transatlantic voyage directly to Russia dropped anchor in the port of Kronstadt. He delivered sugar, rum, indigo, mahogany, sassafras 17 and returned to New England with a cargo of hemp, iron and linen purchased in St. Petersburg. This first visit of American merchants to Russia went largely unnoticed by the Russians, as the Americans were not yet distinguished from the frequent British visitors. However, the English envoy to Russia did not fail to inform London of the disturbing news of the challenge to the British crown. Attempts by the British authorities to prohibit such activity of American shipbuilders and merchants ended in failure - the first ship was followed by merchant ships from New York, Philadelphia and Boston, securing the Americans' right to trade with Russia independent of the mother country.

The desire for economic independence was accompanied, and in some colonies stimulated by the introduction of various forms of self-government. Founded as early as 1619, the legislature of Virginia, already in the first years of its existence, passed laws that limited the power of the royal governor in the judicial, tax and budgetary spheres. At first, the unicameral, and later bicameral assembly of the Massachusetts Bay colony for 50 years had full legislative power. After uniting in 1691 with Plymouth Colony to form a royal province, it retained effective control over the spending of public money. In Rhode Island and Connecticut, the first American republics arose with their own constitutions, which, however, were not allowed to contradict the laws of the mother country. These republics, with their own laws and freely elected representative bodies, lasted until the American Revolution.

The English bourgeois revolution (1640-1689) only complicated the religious and political disputes in the colonies, which were noticeably influenced by political changes in the mother country. Deputies, governors, owners of the colonies were displaced and regained their former power as a result of social unrest among the colonists, the intervention of royal emissaries and English troops. As political freedoms developed in the colonies, religious freedom also expanded. In the traditional stronghold of Puritanism, in Massachusetts, the idea of ​​separation of secular power from the church and religious tolerance began to be widely disseminated. R. Williams, a prominent theologian and preacher of religious freedoms, was about to be deported to England, but he managed to hide in Rhode Island, where he found fertile ground for the practical implementation of his liberal ideas. Attempts to establish any denomination as dominant in a particular colony - whether it be Calvinist Puritanism, Anglicanism, Catholicism, or even more so Judaism - ended in failure. At the same time, the Toleration Act (1649) adopted in Maryland guaranteed equal rights to all believers in Christ, but denied them to representatives of non-Christian religions and Unitarians. In Massachusetts, particularly severe punishments were applied to Quakers, up to the hanging of especially active violators of local religious laws.

The population of the first 13 colonies increased rapidly and amounted to in the middle of the second decade of the XVIII century. OK. 435 thousand people. The largest cities in North America were Boston (7 thousand) and New York (5 thousand). As a result of the developed slave trade and due to natural causes, the black population continued to grow steadily. Attempts by some colonies to restrict the import of black slaves by establishing prohibitive duties ran into active opposition from the English slave traders.

The main occupation of 90% of the population of the colonies, which reached 1.7 million people in 1760, was agriculture (on the eve of the American Revolution, 2.5 million people already lived here, about 1/3 of the population of the British metropolis). In the context of the presence of vast undeveloped territories and the vital need to develop their own industry and crafts, parasitism was considered one of the gravest crimes. All sorts of punishments awaited idlers, up to physical punishment and forced labor. The church acted as a strict overseer of labor relations and observance of the unwritten rules of individual behavior. However, it turned out to be unable to cope with the natural desire of the individual for freedom of choice - there was a continuous process of flow of human resources from one colony to another, from one type of activity to another, from one employer to another. The dissatisfaction of employees with working conditions led to the violation of labor contracts, strikes, social unrest, and sometimes to the unification of those who were dissatisfied with the type of activity and the nature of claims against employers. On the tobacco plantations of the American South already in the 17th century. there were cases of strikes by white employees who acted as a united front against the use of the labor of black slaves. However, cases of such association were still isolated and did not give employers grounds to fear the creation of trade unions.

Background of the American Revolution

The process of gaining independence by the colonies was greatly facilitated by the fact that the mother country turned out to be more and more unable to control the development of events across the ocean. This weakness manifested itself especially convincingly during the years of the English bourgeois revolution, when the British monarchy was busy solving internal problems. After the end of the revolution, the official representatives of the British crown on the ground - the governors and heads of the colonial administrations, not only could not always, but also did not always want to exert the influence London desired on local affairs, guided to a greater extent by their own personal interests. Most of them, with the exception of the governors of Virginia, North Carolina and Georgia, received money for their maintenance from the local legislative assemblies, which also exercised complete control over their financial and tax activities, military spending, etc. Considering the fact that, besides England, France and Spain ruled in North America, with which serious conflicts arose from time to time (especially with France), the limited ability of the British crown to restrain the undesirable development of political events in the colonies and influence their economic life became more and more obvious. It was much easier to pass laws restricting the freedom of the colonies than to put them into practice.

Although the economy of the colonies was not self-sufficient even in the 19th century, remaining dependent to some extent on foreign trade, their economic development was already in the 17th century. quickly and successfully. Exports and imports played only a supporting role, especially considering that a significant place in the foreign trade of the colonies was occupied by trade between the colonies themselves and with the West Indies, which was an important, but not the only source of foreign exchange earnings for them. Foreign trade successes were evidence and a consequence of the successful development of agriculture and industry, as well as the development of internal land transport arteries, with the use of which all small retail trade and trade with Indians (mostly furs bought from them for next to nothing) were carried out. As early as 1690, Massachusetts began issuing its own banknotes, followed by other colonies whose paper money began to be used exclusively in domestic trade and in paying taxes and could not be exchanged for metal money. The Currency Act, adopted by the English Parliament in 1751, banned the issuance of paper money as legal tender in New England and significantly restricted it in other colonies (the Currency Act of 1764 banned the issuance of paper money in all without exclusion of colonies). In conditions of a shortage of foreign exchange and cash, domestic trade proceeded mainly on a basis that later became known as barter, or using beads as a means of payment (with the Indians).

The process of economic development of the colonies required their territorial expansion. The colonists saw the only way to solve this problem in the forcible expropriation of land from the Indian tribes. They purposefully pushed further and further inland, subjected to ruthless extermination. The expulsion of the Indians by the colonists was accompanied by the incessant attempts of England and France to use the indigenous population of America in their geopolitical and economic disputes.

The prologue to the war that broke out on the European continent between England and France (1756-1763) 19 served in 1754 as the clashes of these countries in North America with the involvement of their Indian allies, the Iroquois and Algonquins, respectively. The American colonists who took part in the fighting during this conflict (one of the volunteer units was commanded by Lieutenant Colonel J. Washington) ultimately benefited more than its initiators and direct participants. According to the Paris Peace Treaty of 1763, defeated France lost the rights to all its possessions in North America east of the river. Mississippi (excluding New Orleans). Spanish Florida also went to England, although Spain, an ally of France in the Seven Years' War, received Louisiana from France, and England returned Cuba to her. France ceased to exist as a real power in the New World, retaining only an insignificant part of the once vast territory of its American possessions - the small islands of St. Pierre and Miquelon off the coast of Newfoundland. Under the peace treaty, the Iroquois and Algonquins received nothing. But for them, the Seven Years' War did not pass without a trace: having suffered huge losses in people, the Indian tribes finally lost the ability to resist the American settlers and were gradually forced further west.

After the end of the Seven Years' War, England's attempts to establish complete control over the economic development of the colonies began to become even more decisive. The prohibition by royal decree in 1763 of the settlement of lands beyond the Allegheny Mountains was followed by the adoption in March 1765 of the Stamp Act, which established direct taxation. For the first time since the foundation of the colony, they were forced to pay taxes not to local authorities, but directly to London. England explained the introduction of this tax by the huge public debt that arose in connection with the need to defend the colonies. In the same year, London made an attempt to legitimize the permanent deployment of British troops in the colonies, which remained there after the end of the war, and to ensure their food supply. With the development and deepening of the process of economic development, the numerical growth and expansion of the influence of the local bourgeoisie, the contradictions between the interests of the mother country and the colonies assumed an increasingly fundamental character.

The colonists more and more vigorously advocated the democratization of political institutions, the expansion of the electoral rights of the population, the abolition or reduction of property qualifications. The advancement of specific demands was increasingly associated with a protest against the presence of British troops in the colonies, with a more comprehensive demand for independence. These demands found expression in the activities of the underground organization "Sons of Liberty" 21 created in 1765, in the decisions of the convention of representatives of the majority of 13 colonies convened in New York in the same year (the "Stamp Act Convention"). 22, under the influence of which the politicians and merchants of a number of New England cities made their decision to boycott English goods, as well as in popular unrest and clashes with English troops. One such clash in Boston culminated in March 1770 with soldiers shooting a mob, killing five people. The event that went down in American history under the name "Boston Massacre" or "Boston Massacre" (Boston Massacre) became evidence not so much of the magnitude and intransigence of the contradictions that arose, but of the seriousness of their possible consequences. “This event can be considered the beginning of our break with the British Empire,” the prominent American lawyer and statesman D. Webster later wrote.

The heat of popular unrest was facilitated by those sections of the population of the colonies who bore the bulk of the tax burden under this law - lawyers, printers, tavern workers, land speculators, merchants, landowners, who categorically refused to acquire the stamps required by law to register the right to their activities. Nor did the capitalists, merchants, and industrialists of the mother country conceal their dissatisfaction with the law, whose interests were greatly affected by the American boycott of English goods, the resulting reduction in trade with America, and the economic recession in England itself. An important role in the abolition of the stamp duty was played by B. Franklin, who justified before the British House of Commons the need to abolish this tax with specific figures for the expenses of the colonies on waging wars with the Indians and the French. London was forced to abolish stamp duty in 1766, and in 1770 and introduced in 1767 by the Townshend Acts - named after the British Secretary of the Treasury - taxes on tea, glass, lead, paper and paint imported into the colonies (only a small tax on tea was left as a symbol of the still remaining power of England). The UK Parliament also decided not to renew the Quartering Act. Information about the forced retreat of the metropolis from its earlier decisions was greeted in the colonies with great joy and regarded as a victory over the arbitrariness of the hated overseas authorities. But London was not in the mood to give up its rights to North American possessions, as evidenced by the adoption in March 1766 (the day the stamp duty was abolished) of the Declaratory Act, which confirmed the competence of Parliament to pass any laws binding on American colonists.

The population of the colonies more and more clearly acted as a community of people who were in confrontation with the metropolis over a wide range of political and economic interests. This was largely facilitated by the formation and development of the colonial press, which became a socio-political reality long before the emergence of the American state itself - in contrast to general rule the emergence of the media after and as a result of the creation of the state itself 23 .

From among the first printers and publishers of America 24 came the famous philosopher, scientist and diplomat, one of the most influential and popular "founding fathers" of the American state B. Franklin, who in 1743 created the first American scientific community - the American Philosophical Society and in 1769 became Mr. its President 25 . At the initiative of Franklin in 1754, the first project was put forward to create a union of the North American colonies with their own government and a general president appointed by the British crown. The project reflected the desire of the rapidly emerging bourgeoisie of the colonies for independence and the nationwide growth of self-consciousness, but did not yet provide for complete independence from the mother country. However, even such a project, limited in its plans, caused an extremely negative reaction in London. However, this project did not find support even in the colonies, who feared that if it were implemented, a strong central government would appear to the detriment of local authorities. Nor did they find support in the counter-project put forward by London, which envisaged strengthening the power of the colonial governors.

Thomas Jefferson, one of the most radical figures of the imminent revolution, was an active supporter and propagandist of the ideas of American independence. First of all, he expressed the interests of farming and the young American bourgeoisie. It was these most active and enterprising segments of the population who considered the elimination of the economic and political laws of the metropolis that fettered their initiative as the key to their success on American soil. Their struggle against the dictates of the British crown could only lead to huge casualties among the population of the colonies, were it not for the decisive and far-sighted people who united and led the Americans, giving them a sense of purpose in the struggle for independence.

Americans in the last quarter of the 18th century. bear little resemblance to the first settlers of the mid-17th century. Virginia and Plymouth. They were no longer exclusively from England. Although the English, Irish and Scots were still in the majority, on the eve of the American Revolution, English was not the first language of at least 20% of the colonists (according to available data, even in 1664 the population of the then Dutch colony of New Amsterdam, which later became New York, spoke 18 languages). By this time, only approx. 100 thousand immigrants from Germany - Mennonites, Amish, Quakers, Baptists, not counting those Germans who settled in Maryland, Virginia and North Carolina. Of the 2.5 million Americans (as of 1776), no more than 20% belonged to the Anglican Church, no less than 40% were Calvinists. In the colonies, by that time there were approx. 25 thousand Roman Catholics, 2 thousand Jews, as well as many Quakers, Mennonites, Baptists, Methodists, Lutherans, Pietists and representatives of other faiths.

Unlike the early colonists, Americans on the eve of the revolution were no longer predominantly poor exiles, united by persecution and hardship. These were people who had acquired property over the years of their life in America, who received a good education in America for that time, who had already achieved a certain freedom, which their ancestors, the first American settlers, were completely deprived of. These were people who became Americans not due to circumstances, but who already had sufficient grounds to consider themselves the original inhabitants of the continent. They were indebted to America for everything they had achieved in life and linked their future and their successes with her successes and with her freedom. Formally considered subjects of the British Empire, they, however, were deprived of the fundamental rights and freedoms granted to other British subjects.

The prologue to the American Revolution is traditionally considered to be the events of the decade preceding it, although its premises matured over a longer historical period. By the beginning of the 70s. in the 18th century in the colonies, there was a consolidation of social forces and movements for gaining complete independence from the mother country, manifested in a closer convergence of their positions on various aspects of relations with London. Boston, the largest port on the northeast coast, was at the forefront of the struggle for independence. It was in the Massachusetts colony in 1772 that the first Correspondence Committee (Committee of Correspondence) was created by a graduate of Harvard College, tax collector S. Adams, a body of interconnection between the colonies, coordinating joint actions to resist the dictates of the metropolis. Virginia followed Massachusetts, and in 1773 such committees were formed in almost all the colonies, playing an important role in preparing the final break with the British Empire.

On December 16, 1773, a theatrical protest was held in Boston, which went down in American history under the name of the Boston Tea Party. At the call of S. Adams, members of the organization "Sons of Liberty", dressed in costumes of Mohawk Indians, threw 342 boxes of tea belonging to the English East India Company into the sea. The formal basis for this action was the non-payment of US customs duties by the British exporter. The future US President John Adams, who usually perceived the actions of an unorganized crowd with displeasure, saw in this carefully organized and carried out without excessive emotion action the "dignity, greatness and sublimity" of American patriots. London, however, regarded it as undermining the economic interests of the metropolis and causing serious damage to the company, which was already experiencing serious financial difficulties due to the boycott of English goods by the colonists (in particular, the boycott of tea led to its consumption in the colonies decreased from 1769 to 1772). more than three times). The Boston Tea Party, in fact, marked the beginning of an active struggle for independence. It is natural that this event took place in the Massachusetts colony. The British authorities have long considered Massachusetts a "troublemaker", the center of the revolutionary movement. In the position and demands of the inhabitants of Massachusetts, they found a concentrated expression of the claims of all North American colonists to London. It was this that explained the fact that Massachusetts became a revolutionary center, to which representatives of other colonies began to adjoin, regardless of the interests of which segments of the population they reflected.

The retaliatory measures of the mother country were not slow to follow - adopted by the English Parliament in 1774, the Boston port was closed by the Coercive Acts 27, four regiments of the English armed forces were introduced into Boston, and a state of siege was introduced in the city itself. City authorities were charged with the obligation to pay compensation in the amount of approx. £10,000 for a cargo of tea dumped into Boston Harbor. At the same time, in accordance with the Quebec Act of 1774, London decided to annex to Canada the vast northwestern territory beyond the Alleghenies. This could not but cause indignation in the broad circles of the farming population of the colonies, who sought to move to the fertile western lands. In addition to purely material factors, for American Protestants it became absolutely unacceptable that this act of land was transferred to the French Catholics of Quebec.

The execution of sanctions against the "Boston rebels" was entrusted to the new governor of Massachusetts, General T. Gage. The realization that the fate of Massachusetts could soon await other North American colonies of Great Britain rallied them in a single determination to achieve independence.

First Continental Congress

On September 5, 1774, the First Continental Congress began its work in Philadelphia with the participation of 56 representatives of all the colonies, with the exception of Georgia. One of the seven Virginia delegates was George Washington. During the congress, which continued until October 26, requirements for the metropolis were formulated. The “Declaration of Rights” developed by the Congress contained a statement on the rights of the American colonies to “life, liberty and property” and a decision to resume the boycott of British goods in the event that the British crown refused to make concessions in its financial and economic policy. The declaration also expressed the intention of a new convocation of the Continental Congress on May 10, 1775, if London remained adamant in its intransigence. The retaliatory steps of the metropolis were not long in coming - the king put forward a demand for the complete subordination of the colonies to the power of the British crown, and the English fleet began to blockade the northeast coast of the American continent. General Gage was ordered to put down the "open rebellion" and enforce the Repressive Laws by the colonies, resorting to the use of force if necessary. The First Continental Congress, and especially the reaction of London to its decisions, convincingly demonstrated to the Americans that their strength lies in unity and that they should not count on the favor of the British crown and its condescending attitude towards their demands for independence.

Less than six months remained before the start of active hostilities of the War of Independence.

Control questions and tasks

What regions of the world were the first inhabitants of America?

Who was the New World named America after?

Which European is considered the discoverer of America?

Which countries initiated the European colonization of America?

When and by whom was the first European settlement in North America founded?

When did black slaves appear in America?

Who were the Pilgrims in early American history?

List the first colonies that arose in the territory of the North

America in the 17th century, which laid the foundation for the modern United States.

When did the Russians appear in North America? How did trade and economic relations develop between Russia and America? "

Who were the first colonists of America according to the national and social composition?

Who are squatters?

Name the crops and manufactured goods that made up the main American exports in the 17th century. What were the political and economic goals of the mother country in relation to its North American colonies?

Describe the main stages of the struggle of the American colonies for independence before the start of the war.