Section 3 Ch 4

The Americans Section 3, Ch. 4

Native Americans Experts believe that the first Americans came from Asia on a land bridge that connected Asia with present-day Alaska. Their descendants today are known as Native Americans.

Explorers and Colonists Around A.D. 1500, Europeans arrived in the Americas. Because of the abundance of raw materials, European countries set up colonies in the Americas. The British colonists soon began to see themselves as Americans.

Explorers and Colonists From 1775 to 1783, the Americans fought the American Revolutionary War and won their independence from Great Britain. The Treaty of Paris (1783) was the document that officially ended the war.

The U.S. Constitution • In 1787 a group of American leaders met to create a new national government. • They wrote the United States Constitution, the basis for all our laws. • Constitutional amendments allow the constitution to be changed in a peaceful way.

Amendments Bill of Rights: Amendment 1 - Freedom of Religion, Press, Expression Amendment 2 - Right to Bear Arms Amendment 3 - Quartering of Soldiers Amendment 4 - Search and Seizure Amendment 5 - Trial and Punishment, Compensation for Takings Amendment 6 - Right to Speedy Trial, Confrontation of Witnesses Amendment 7 - Trial by Jury in Civil Cases Amendment 8 - Cruel and Unusual Punishment Amendment 9 - Construction of Constitution Amendment 10 - Powers of the States and People

Amendment 11 - Judicial Limits Amendment 12 - Choosing the President, Vice President Amendment 13 - Slavery Abolished Amendment 14 - Citizenship Rights Amendment 15 - Race No Bar to Vote Amendment 16 - Status of Income Tax Clarified Amendment 17 - Senators Elected by Popular Vote Amendment 18 - Liquor Abolished Amendment 19 - Women's Suffrage Amendment 20 - Presidential, Congressional Terms Amendment 21 - Amendment 18 Repealed Amendment 22 - Presidential Term Limits Amendment 23 - Presidential Vote for District of Columbia Amendment 24 - Poll Taxes Barred Amendment 25 - Presidential Disability and Succession Amendment 26 - Voting Age Set to 18 Years Amendment 27 - Limiting Congressional Pay Increases

A Federal Republic • Our government is based upon the principle of democracy, or rule by the people. • The U.S. has a representative democracy, in which voters choose leaders who make and enforce the laws.

A Federal Republic • People elected by the voters of each state serve in state or national government. • In this way, the U.S. is a federal republic, or a government divided between national and state powers with a president who leads the national government.

Legislative Executive Judicial

U.S. Government

A Period of Growth • Be the mid-1800’s, the South had built an economy based on slave labor, an issue that divided the country. • Several Southern states seceded, or withdrew from the national government, bringing about the Civil War in 1861. • At the end of the war, the Southern states were brought back into the Union, and slavery was abolished.

A Period of Growth Following the Civil War, economic growth attracted another great wave of people from other countries. These people were immigrants, or people who move to a new country to make a permanent home.

A World Leader The U.S. participated in the two World Wars. After World War II, some groups of Americans - women, African Americans, and Hispanic Americans, struggled for equality.

Security After the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, Americans no longer felt as safe as they once had. The Department of Homeland Security was created.