History of the United States

The British colonies wanted to expand their territory to the west, while the French, which occupied the North and Canada, wanted to expand their land to the South. Both the British and the French had different Indian tribes as allies.

Most battles took place around the Mississippi river. At the end, the British won and gained control of Canada and all land east of the Mississippi river.

In order to pay for the expensive war, the British decided to raise taxes to their American colonies. The British Parliament imposed taxes on basic things like paper, sugar or tea.

The colonies were furious because they had to pay numerous taxes, but they did not have any representatives in the British Parliament, which made them claim: "No taxation without representation".

The Independece war broke out after the colonies resented the imposed taxes without being represented in the British Parliament.

The Continental army, with his leader George Washington, fought ferociously along with the French, who joined the war. Great Britain ended up recognizing American independece.

The Continental Congress wrote this iconic document on July 4th, 1776. The document is addressed to the British king George III claiming the unfair treatment the colonies received.

Some of the most remarkable sentences in the declaration are: "All men are created equal" as well as "we must be granted the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness".

The Underground railroad was a network of people that helped slaves to leave the Southern states where slavery was legal and reach the North of the US or even Canada.

Both, free African-American and white people, offered food and shelter, putting their own lives at risk if they were discovered. Harriet Tubman, one of the most well-known conductors, made 19 trips to the North, saving over 300 slaves.

Mexico had control over Texas, but encouraged American settlers to live there. At one point, Mexico began to restrict immigration, imposed heavy taxes. Some Texan revolutionaries started to talk about breaking free.

President Santa Ana assembled 6,000 men and fought against 200 men in a small Spanish mission (church) called The Alamo. The last Texan survivors were later on executed by Mexicans. Texan rebels lost the battle but gained time to organize the army and eventually achieve independence.

Abolitionism in America was the movement that sought to end slavery in its territory. It started shortly after the Independence War and ended after the American Civil war.

Slavery was a profitable business, so it took the abolition movement, a civil war and the ratification of the 13th Amendment in the Constitution to end slavery.

Although slavery does no longer exist, racial equality and justice is yet to happen.

The Apache wars were conflicts between the US and some Apache nations. The US relocated other Indian tribes onto Apache territories and the conflicts escalated.

The fightings mainly took place in Arizona and New Mexico. Many tribes negotiated with the US government to move into Indian reservations, but others continued fighting for decades.