How Old Is America?

How Old Is America? How old is America 2022, and 2023? America technically has been around for 245 years because, on July 4, 1776, the country initially proclaimed its independence from Great Britain. Long before the United States celebrated its independence, European immigrants to the Americas in large numbers had started the westward movement in search of a better life. Prior to the arrival of European explorers and colonizers, Native Americans inhabited the Americas for almost 10,000 years. The number of Europeans migrating to the United States dramatically exploded starting in the early 1600s.

How Old Is America

Early European Settlements
Jamestown

How Old Is America? Jamestown, Virginia, became the first English colony to dock its ships in 1607 after sailing across the Atlantic. The Susan Constant, the Godspeed, and the Discovery were the three ships that carried 104 settlers, all men and boys, to the shore. On May 13, 1607, they named their colony James I, in honor of the reigning monarch of England. The Virginia Company, which sponsored the expedition, chose Jamestown after considering several reasons. Firstly, it is a peninsula surrounded by water on three sides, which made it difficult for Spanish ships to attack. Secondly, it is quite far inland from the ocean, which provides additional protection. How old is America in 2022?

The colonists were able to enjoy privacy in their new settlement because there were no known Native American settlements in the surrounding area. Moreover, they were able to anchor their ships very close to shore without any issue, as the water was deep enough. Edward Maria Winfield became the first President of the new colonial government of Jamestown, along with other elected council members such as John Martin, John Radcliffe, George Kendall, John Smith, Bartholomew Gosnold, and Christopher Newport. By June 15 of the same year, the colonists had finished building a fort to protect themselves from the Powhatan people. This marked the establishment of the first official European settlement in the New World.

New England

How Old Is America? The Mayflower, a renowned ship, arrived at Plymouth, Massachusetts, approximately 10 to 15 years after the initial immigrants settled in Jamestown, Virginia. Around 100 English men and women left their homeland in September 1620, and after two months of travel, they docked at Plymouth Rock in December of the same year. A significant number of these settlers belonged to the Separatist Church, which had religious differences with the Church of England. When the Church of England failed to undertake the necessary tasks related to the Protestant Reformation, the Separatist Church decided to leave England.

How Old Is America? The English Separatists had previously colonized the Netherlands in 1607 and 1608 in order to demand religious liberty. This issue had been a long-standing one for them. About ten years later, they migrated to the New World to integrate their English-speaking culture. The Mayflower immigrants made a deal with the Virginia Company to anchor their ship beside the Hudson River, similar to the Jamestown settlement. However, due to high winds and storms, the ship deviated from its intended course and eventually arrived in territories to the north of its target. On November 21, 1620, they anchored near Provincetown, Massachusetts, and dispatched a team to investigate the area. On December 18, they officially anchored at Plymouth Rock.

The Pokanokets tribe, which at the time resided in Massachusetts and Rhode Island, was a local Native American group, and the Plymouth immigrants did a fantastic job of making friends with them. The Pilgrims and Pokanokets notably had a feast for the first Thanksgiving in the late autumn of the following year (1621).

Pennsylvania

How Old Is America? James II of England, a wealthy Englishman Quaker, owed money to William Penn’s family in 1681. The King provided a charter for a location for the Quakers to settle in exchange for paying off the debt. They received the piece of land next to the Delaware River, 12 miles north of Newcastle. The place they had moved to was known as “THE PROVINCE OF PENNSYLVANIA.” Penn wasn’t worried about his new colony’s potential success even if the charter grant placed more restrictions on them than on the other colonies. His theory basically depended on his faith in Quakers to establish a decent government because he thought they were nice people by nature (and better than the Puritans). They were successful in settling in 1681. near the Chesapeake River’s eastern bank. They created Philadelphia as a result of the extraordinarily fruitful terrain they eventually arrived to.

Penn was able to establish cordial ties with the nearby Native American tribes, much like the Plymouth colony, by buying their land before expanding their settlement. Although initially, the majority of settlers in Pennsylvania were Quakers, Penn’s philosophy of tolerance towards religious freedom attracted many others who were trying to flee religious intolerance in Europe.

Diversification Over Time

How Old Is America? More than 13 established colonies have been formed in the New World along the Atlantic Coast as of the year 1733. In many cases, settlers departed from their native countries in search of the freedom they had never known. America represented a location where individuals might live as they pleased and start over because many European nations oppressed their citizens on a political level. Since the United States takes great satisfaction in the liberties enjoyed by its citizens, these ideals are still valid today. The North saw longer winters, which made it difficult to sustain oneself through farming. The South, on the other hand, was highly dependent on agriculture and plantations. To maintain these incredibly large tracts of land, they used slave labor. The sea developed and became a superb economic source up north. The colonists built sawmills with the help of water power, and everyone who lived close to the harbors managed to engage in trade in some capacity.

Fight for Independence

How Old Is America? The 13 English colonies officially attempted to break away from the British Empire on July 4, 1776, as most Americans are aware, by signing the Declaration of Independence. By this document, they were acknowledged by Great Britain as an independent nation. This law was signed by anti-king American rebels in Philadelphia. This act sparked the American Revolution, the well-known fight between the American colonies and their king for the freedom of the settlers. All of us are aware that the Patriots overcame the Redcoats, and in 1787 they established the United States Constitution, outlining the different privileges and DEMOCRACY that their people now enjoyed. The United States of America was subsequently created as a result.

About 25 years later, in the War of 1812, the British and Americans were at odds once more. The “STAR-SPANGLED BANNER” author and composer Francis Scott Key saw a still-raised AMERICAN FLAG that had withstood the raid while a legendary British bombardment was directed at Fort McHenry. This particular incident served as a metaphor for the course of that conflict and the tenacity of American history.

Birth of a Nation

How Old Is America? The United States officially abandoned the British control that they no longer wished to be a part of in 1776, but the history of how the nation came to be had ties much further than that. In 1607, Jamestown became the first English settlement, and the Pilgrims arrived on Plymouth Rock at the tail end of 1620. Following the founding of other colonies along the Atlantic Coast, William Penn built Philadelphia and the colony of Pennsylvania in the second part of the 17th century.

The mindset of those Europeans who immigrated to America had a significant impact on the identity that the nation now recognizes. Many of them were angry about the oppression they had experienced from the government or the lack of opportunity they had in the Land of Opportunity to practice their religion freely. This similar mindset is still present in the United States today. America offers everyone the chance to prosper, regardless of appearance, religious preference, or parental background. People want to move here in the present because it will always be the Land of the Free.

Source

Colonial era in American history | American embassy Philadelphia Cove | History Central History.com: PLYMOUTH COLONY JAMESTOWN: A SHORT HISTORY | NATIONAL PARK SERVICE “THE STAR SPANGLED BANNER” BY FRANCIS SCOTT KEY IS PENSED ON HISTORY.COM WHO CAME TO AMERICA FIRST? | NPR