American History Beginnings To 1877 Myworld Interactive May 2026

The first permanent English settlement was Jamestown (Virginia, 1607), founded by a joint-stock company. It barely survived due to disease, hunger, and conflict with the Powhatan people. John Smith’s leadership and John Rolfe’s introduction of tobacco as a cash crop finally made Jamestown profitable. Part 2: The 13 Colonies & Colonial Life (1630–1754) Key Vocabulary: Puritan, Pilgrim, Mayflower Compact, Great Awakening, Mercantilism, Triangular Trade, Middle Passage

Before Europeans arrived, diverse Indigenous cultures thrived across North America. The Ancestral Puebloans (Southwest) built cliff dwellings, the Mississippians (Southeast) built huge mounds like Cahokia, and the Iroquois (Northeast) formed a powerful political league (the Iroquois Confederacy). Most tribes relied on hunting, fishing, and farming—especially maize (corn), which allowed populations to grow. american history beginnings to 1877 myworld interactive

Southern states passed Black Codes to restrict freedoms. Sharecropping trapped many Black families and poor whites in debt. Violent groups like the Ku Klux Klan terrorized Black voters. Part 2: The 13 Colonies & Colonial Life