Among historians, it’s not completely clear whether America began at the time Columbus came to America or whether it began two centuries later in the 1600s. Historians who believe that America started with Colombus’ coming dwell more on the connection America has with Europe. Other historians however only explain American origin based on the context of its own frontiers.

It is believed that America was already inhabited by the Native American tribes several years prior to the coming of colonialists from Europe. Most of these colonialists were from England with a few of them from France and Spain. Colonialists started arriving in America in 1600.

The British held the largest share of American colonies. There were about thirteen colonies under the British by the 1770s. These colonies in total comprised of over two million people. The Spanish colonialists on the other hand established small settlements in the Southwest region and in Florida while the French settled along the banks of River Mississippi.

Under British rule, a number of taxes were levied on the American people. The British government refused to give heed to calls by the Americans to have the taxes withdrawn. The Americans argued that taxes had to be first of all approved by the people before they could be imposed on the people. Tax resistance ensued leading to a decision by the British government to enact laws which sort to stop the self-governance in Massachusetts. This was in 1774.

All the British colonies assembled and formed a Congress which required that they draft new constitutions for the various states. Violent resistance had broken out in Massachusetts and in the process, the royal officials were driven away the colonies by American Patriots. In an attempt to chart the way forward concerning independence from colonial rule, the Patriots organized and attended numerous meetings. These meetings recorded very large attendance. The Patriot governments sent their members to Congress to push for independence. In 1776, Congress declared that the states had been brought together under one nation known as the United States of America.

The American Patriots received military and financial backing from France. With the help from France and General George Washington offering military leadership, the American Patriots managed to break away from British rule. They in addition won the Revolutionary War. A peace treaty was signed in 1783, this treaty gave the United States of America the tracts of land on the eastern side of River Mississippi. The treaty also confirmed that England was now recognising the United States of America as an independent nation.

The central government was established by Articles of Confederation. This government was however ineffective as it lacked the power to collect taxes. In addition, the central government had no executive officer. In a bid to come up with a solution to this problem, Congress called a meeting in 1787 to modify the Articles of Confederation. This meet took place in Philadelphia and was held in secret. A new constitution was thus written and was adopted in 1789. Washington became the first president of the United States of America and he worked with Alexander Hamilton as his advisor.

In 1801, Thomas Jefferson became the president of America and bought Louisiana Territory from France, this increased the size of the United States. Federal boundaries continued to expand. With the passing of time, they expanded upto the Pacific region. The expansion was driven by the need for cheap land for yeoman farmers and also the slave owners. Slavery had increased and this drew sharp political battles. Slavery was finally abolished after the American Civil War.