Settlers and Key Events
Who settled your state? What are the key events in your state's history?
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Different groups of people settled in different parts of the United States. Do you know who settled your state?
For example, many people settled the state of Texas. First, Native Americans inhabited Texas. Then, Spanish explorers began to colonize Texas. Next, the French tried to settle a part of Texas, but Spain still had control of the land at that time. Later, Spain granted Mexico its independence, and Texas became a Mexican province. Afterwards, American troops fought Mexico for Texas and won. At that time, Texas became independent as the Republic of Texas. Nine years later, in 1845, Texas gave up its independence and became the 28th state of the Union.
Who settled your state, and what were the key events that happened before its statehood? Below are some videos about some states. Watch the video for your state if it's provided. If your state isn't one of these, research your state's history with the help of an adult. For more information about your state, click on these helpful resources: National Geographic and Kiddle.co.
California
male narrator: IN 1848, THE DISCOVERY OF A TINY GOLD NUGGET LED TO AN OUTBREAK OF GOLD FEVER. - WOO-HOO! narrator: PEOPLE FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD RUSHED TO CALIFORNIA. THOUSANDS POURED INTO SAN FRANCISCO, CAUSING A POPULATION EXPLOSION THAT CHANGED THE CITY, AND THE STATE, FOREVER. JOHN SUTTER, A SWISS IMMIGRANT, ARRIVED IN CALIFORNIA IN 1839, WHEN IT WAS A TERRITORY OF MEXICO. HE LIED ABOUT HIS PAST, TELLING MEXICAN OFFICIALS HE WAS A FORMER CAPTAIN FOR KING CHARLES X OF FRANCE. THEY BELIEVED HIS STORY, MADE HIM A MEXICAN CITIZEN, AND GRANTED HIM ABOUT 50,000 ACRES OF LAND IN THE SACRAMENTO VALLEY. WITH THE HELP OF EUROPEAN IMMIGRANTS, PACIFIC ISLAND LABORERS, AND LOCAL INDIANS, SUTTER DEVELOPED THE LAND, GREW CROPS, AND RAISED LIVESTOCK. HE BUILT SUTTER'S FORT, A WALLED VILLAGE WITH SHOPS, A FLOUR MILL, A BLANKET FACTORY, AND LIVING QUARTERS. SUTTER EXPECTED TO MAKE HIS FORTUNE THROUGH FARMING AND TRADE, BUT THE TRUE VALUE OF HIS LAND WOULD SOON BE DISCOVERED. THAT DISCOVERY WAS MADE BY JAMES MARSHALL, A CARPENTER SUTTER HIRED TO BUILD A SAWMILL ABOUT 45 MILES EAST OF THE FORT ON THE SOUTH FORK OF THE AMERICAN RIVER. ON JANUARY 24, 1848, MARSHALL SPOTTED SOMETHING SHINY AND METALLIC IN THE RIVER. HE SHOWED IT TO SUTTER. THEY CHECKED THE ENCYCLOPEDIA, RAN A SERIES OF TESTS, AND DETERMINED THAT MARSHALL HAD FOUND GOLD. THEY TRIED TO KEEP IT A SECRET, BUT WORD BEGAN TO TRICKLE DOWN RIVER TO SAN FRANCISCO. - GOLD! - GOLD! WOO! narrator: NEWS OF THE DISCOVERY SPREAD ACROSS THE COUNTRY AND AROUND THE WORLD. BY JANUARY 1849, THE GOLD RUSH WAS ON. BARBERS... BANKERS... SHOPKEEPERS... FARMERS... AND GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS LEFT THEIR JOBS, AND THEIR FAMILIES, TO HEAD FOR CALIFORNIA. THESE GOLD PROSPECTORS WERE CALLED 49ERS, AFTER THE YEAR THEY ARRIVED. AND THEY ARRIVED IN THE THOUSANDS, CHANGING THE FACE OF CALIFORNIA FOREVER. 49ERS FOLLOWED THREE MAJOR ROUTES TO GET TO CALIFORNIA: THE OVERLAND ROUTE, ALONG THE OREGON-CALIFORNIA TRAIL, OR THE SANTA FE AND OLD SPANISH TRAILS FURTHER SOUTH; A SEA ROUTE COVERING 18,000 NAUTICAL MILES AROUND THE SOUTHERN TIP OF SOUTH AMERICA AT CAPE HORN; AND A SEA ROUTE THROUGH THE ISTHMUS OF PANAMA, WHERE TRAVELERS HAD TO TREK OVER LAND TO THE PACIFIC COAST TO PICK UP ANOTHER SHIP BOUND FOR SAN FRANCISCO. BY LAND OR BY SEA, THE JOURNEY WEST WAS LONG, DIFFICULT, AND OFTEN DANGEROUS. THE QUICKEST WAY TO GO WAS THROUGH PANAMA, BUT IT WAS ALSO THE MOST EXPENSIVE. TICKETS RANGED FROM $300 TO $1,000. THAT KIND OF CASH BOUGHT EAGER MINERS MORE THAN JUST A SEAT ON A STEAM-POWERED SHIP OR STEAMER. IT ALSO BOUGHT THEM A 47-MILE HIKE THROUGH A JUNGLE SWARMING WITH MOSQUITOES THAT CARRIED MALARIA AND YELLOW FEVER, TWO DEADLY DISEASES. THE SAFER, MORE AFFORDABLE SEA ROUTE WENT AROUND CAPE HORN. THIS TRIP TOOK FOUR TO EIGHT MONTHS. PASSENGERS USUALLY SURVIVED IT, BUT THEY HAD TO COPE WITH BOREDOM, SEASICKNESS, BAD FOOD, AND DISEASE, AND THEY OFTEN ARRIVED TOO WEAK TO MINE FOR GOLD. BY FAR, MOST MIGRANTS TO CALIFORNIA, BEFORE AND AFTER THE GOLD RUSH, TOOK THE OVERLAND ROUTE, TRAVELING BY WAGON TRAIN ACROSS RAGING RIVERS, UNFORGIVING DESERTS, AND TREACHEROUS MOUNTAIN PASSES. THE DONNER PARTY IS A WELL-KNOWN EXAMPLE. THE MEMBERS OF THE DONNER PARTY CHOSE TO TRAVEL OVER LAND, BECAUSE, LIKE MANY PIONEERS, THEY ALREADY OWNED WAGONS AND HORSES. THEY STOCKED THE WAGONS WITH FLOUR AND SALT PORK FOR THE LONG JOURNEY, BUT THEY WEREN'T PREPARED FOR MOTHER NATURE. IN OCTOBER 1846, WHILE PAUSING IN THE SIERRA NEVADA MOUNTAINS TO RECOVER THEIR STRENGTH, THEY WERE TRAPPED BY AN EARLY SNOWSTORM. A RESCUE TEAM, SENT BY JOHN SUTTER, FINALLY REACHED THE STRANDED PIONEERS FOUR MONTHS LATER IN FEBRUARY. ONLY ABOUT HALF OF THE ORIGINAL 87 MEMBERS OF THE DONNER PARTY SURVIVED THE JOURNEY. DESPITE THE COST, THE DANGER, AND THE HARSH ENVIRONMENT, THOUSANDS CAME TO CALIFORNIA. PIONEERS CAME TO SET UP FARMS AND 49ERS CAME TO STRIKE IT RICH. SAN FRANCISCO WENT FROM A QUIET SHANTYTOWN TO A BUSTLING PORT CITY, ALMOST OVERNIGHT. THE POPULATION BOOM MADE CALIFORNIA ELIGIBLE FOR STATEHOOD IN 1850. ACCORDING TO THE CENSUS THAT YEAR, CALIFORNIA BOASTED A POPULATION OF NEARLY 100,000. BY 1900, ALMOST A MILLION AND A HALF PEOPLE CALLED CALIFORNIA HOME. Transcript
Florida
After the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, Spanish Florida became isolated, surrounded by American territory. Andrew Jackson, nicknamed ?Old Hickory," played a major role during this time, invading Florida to protect American settlers and thus paving the way for Florida to become part of the United States. In 1821, Florida was deeded to the U.S. by Spain. And in 1845, Florida was admitted into the Union as the 27th state. It was now much like its southern neighbors, a slave-holding state with many black slaves and large cotton plantations. However, Florida also had many free blacks. In 1861, at the onset of the Civil War, Florida seceded from the Union and joined the Confederacy. Because of its small population at the time, Florida?s role in the Civil War was minimal. It supplied the Confederacy with food, but its land was not hotly contested in battle. Its ports were frequently occupied by both sides. And, many of the poorer white settlers were indifferent to the war. After the Civil War, Florida quickly rebounded economically. Transcript
Pennsylvania
KING CHARLES II OWED WILLIAM PENN'S FAMILY MONEY, SO AGREED TO GIVE PENN A ROYAL CHARTER TO LAND WEST OF NEW JERSEY. THE KING NAMED IT PENNSYLVANIA, WHICH MEANS PENN'S WOODS. PENN'S GOVERNMENT PLAN GUARANTEED RELIGIOUS FREEDOM FOR ALL PERSONS WHO BELIEVED IN GOD. ITS COLONISTS ELECTED REPRESENTATIVES TO AN ASSEMBLY WHICH CONSISTED OF THEIR REPRESENTATIVES, A COUNCIL APPOINTED BY THE KING, AND A GOVERNOR. AS PENN'S BELIEF IN THE FREEDOM OF RELIGION BECAME KNOWN, IMMIGRANTS FROM MANY COUNTRIES CAME TO THE PENNSYLVANIA COLONY. IMMIGRANTS HELPED PENNSYLVANIA PROSPER. SOME WERE SKILLED WORKERS, BAKERS, CARPENTERS, SHOEMAKERS, TAILORS, BUTCHERS, AND BLACKSMITHS WHO SET UP SHOPS. OTHERS STARTED SMALL FARMS NEARBY AND SOLD FOOD IN CITIES AND TOWNS. PHILADELPHIA, THE CAPITAL OF THE COLONY, WAS NAMED AFTER AN ANCIENT CITY IN THE BIBLE WHOSE GREEK NAME MEANS "BROTHERLY LOVE." BECAUSE IT WAS AT AN IMPORTANT LOCATION FOR SHIPPING AND TRADE, IT GREW BY THE LATE 1700s TO BE THE LARGEST CITY IN THE AMERICAN COLONIES AS WELL AS A GREAT CENTER OF CULTURE, LEARNING, AND IDEAS. WILLIAM PENN WANTED HIS COLONY TO HAVE A PORT ON THE ATLANTIC OCEAN. SO THE DUKE OF YORK GAVE HIM RIGHTS TO THE DELAWARE COLONY, AN AREA BY THE SEA THEN GOVERNED BY NEW YORK. IN 1704, DELAWARE AND PENNSYLVANIA AGREED TO SEPARATE SO THAT EACH COULD MAKE THEIR OWN LAWS. Transcript
Texas
THE GULF COASTAL PLAINS ARE THE LOW, FLAT LANDS THAT BORDER THE GULF OF MEXICO. IN TEXAS, THEY MAKE UP THE ENTIRE EASTERN PART OF THE STATE. DUE TO THE FERTILE NATURE OF THIS LAND AND THE EASE WITH WHICH IT CAN BE ACCESSED FROM THE GULF, NEARLY ALL EARLY HUMAN SETTLEMENT AND EXPLORATION OF TEXAS TOOK PLACE HERE. BEFORE THE SPANISH ARRIVED IN THE NEW WORLD IN THE LATE 15TH CENTURY, ABOUT 30,000 NATIVE AMERICANS INHABITED THE COASTAL PLAINS OF TEXAS. ONE PROMINENT CULTURAL GROUP CALLED THE CADDO INDIANS FORMED AGRICULTURAL SOCIETIES AND BUILT SMALL EARTHEN PYRAMIDS FOR THEIR RELIGIOUS CEREMONIES. IN 1519, SPANISH EXPLORERS BEGAN TO MAP THE TEXAS GULF COAST. THEY WERE THE FIRST EUROPEANS TO DO SO. THIS WAS THE SAME YEAR THAT SPAIN BEGAN ITS CONQUEST OF THE GREAT AZTEC EMPIRE ABOUT 500 MILES SOUTH OF TEXAS IN CENTRAL MEXICO. MUCH LATER, IN THE 1680s, THE SPANISH BEGAN COLONIZING TEXAS WHEN THEY BUILT THEIR FIRST MISSIONS TO THE WEST OF WHAT IS NOW THE CITY OF EL PASO. ALSO DURING THE 1680s, THE FRENCH EXPLORER RENE-ROBERT CAVELIER, SIEUR DE LA SALLE, SAILED THROUGH THE GULF OF MEXICO, PLANNING TO ESTABLISH A COLONY AT THE MOUTH OF THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER, BUT THE EXPEDITION COULDN'T FIND THE RIVER. THEN ONE OF THEIR SHIPS SANK, AND ANOTHER RAN AGROUND HERE AT MATAGORDA BAY IN TEXAS. LA SALLE TRIED TO MAKE THE BEST OF A BAD SITUATION BY ESTABLISHING FORT SAINT LOUIS NEAR TODAY'S CITY OF VICTORIA, TEXAS. THE COLONY BEGAN WITH ABOUT 300 PEOPLE, BUT IT SOON FAILED DUE TO DISEASE, FAMINE, AND CONFLICTS WITH THE NATIVE TRIBES. IN THE EARLY 1720s, TO DISCOURAGE FRANCE FROM COLONIZING TEXAS, SPAIN ESTABLISHED MISSIONS IN AND AROUND WHAT IS TODAY THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO. THE SPANISH BUILT MISSIONS WHEREVER THEY FOUNDED COLONIES. THESE UNIQUE COLONIAL INSTITUTIONS SERVED AS RELIGIOUS, TRADING, AND MILITARY OUTPOSTS OF THE SPANISH GOVERNMENT. THE MISSIONARIES ENCOURAGED LOCAL NATIVE AMERICANS TO RELINQUISH THEIR TRADITIONAL WAY OF LIFE BY COMING TO LIVE AT THE MISSIONS. THERE, THEY WERE TAUGHT THE SPANISH LANGUAGE, THE CATHOLIC FAITH, AND TRADES, SUCH AS WEAVING AND WOODWORKING. AT THIS TEXAS MISSION, IT IS STILL POSSIBLE TO SEE THE SIMPLE ROOMS WHERE NATIVE AMERICAN FAMILIES ONCE LIVED. AND THE MISSION'S HISTORIC GRISTMILL WAS THE FIRST PLACE IN TEXAS WHERE GRAIN WAS GROUND INTO FLOUR USING WATER-POWERED MACHINERY. WHEN SPAIN GRANTED MEXICO ITS INDEPENDENCE IN 1821, TEXAS AUTOMATICALLY BECAME A MEXICAN PROVINCE. THE GOVERNMENT OF MEXICO AT THAT TIME WAS GREATLY CONCERNED ABOUT THE RAPID TERRITORIAL EXPANSION OF THE UNITED STATES. EVEN SO, FOR A WHILE, IT GRANTED LARGE PARCELS OF LAND TO AMERICANS WHO WANTED TO SETTLE IN TEXAS. THIS SUGARCANE PLANTATION WAS ESTABLISHED BY AN AMERICAN CITIZEN ON A MEXICAN LAND GRANT IN 1824. BY THE 1830s, AMERICANS BEGAN TO OUTNUMBER MEXICANS IN TEXAS. AS A RESULT, THE MEXICAN GOVERNMENT TRIED TO HALT AMERICAN IMMIGRATION INTO TEXAS, WHICH ANGERED THE AMERICANS. MANY AMERICAN SETTLERS IN TEXAS WANTED TO USE SLAVE LABOR ON THEIR COTTON AND SUGARCANE PLANTATIONS DESPITE THE FACT THAT SLAVERY WAS ILLEGAL IN MEXICO. THE AMERICANS DECIDED THEY NEEDED TO MAKE THEIR OWN LAWS, AND THE COMPOSED A TEXAS DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE. IN 1835, AT THE ALAMO, AN OLD SAN ANTONIO MISSION, THE AMERICANS LOST A VERY BLOODY BATTLE WHILE TRYING TO FREE TEXAS FROM MEXICO. HOWEVER, THE FOLLOWING YEAR, AMERICAN TROOPS DEFEATED MEXICAN FORCES, AND A NEW NATION CALLED THE REPUBLIC OF TEXAS WAS BORN. THEIR COUNTRY'S FLAG WAS RED, WHITE, AND BLUE WITH ONE LONE STAR ON IT. THIS SMALL WOODEN BUILDING SERVED AS THE REPUBLIC'S FIRST CAPITOL. THIS WAS WHERE SAM HOUSTON TOOK THE OATH OF OFFICE AS PRESIDENT OF THE NEW NATION. IN 1845, NINE YEARS AFTER THE REPUBLIC OF TEXAS WAS FOUNDED, IT GAVE UP ITS INDEPENDENCE AND JOINED THE UNITED STATES AS A NEW SLAVE STATE AND THE 28TH STATE TO BE ADMITTED TO THE UNION. Transcript
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On your activity page, write the group(s) of people who settled your state. Then write the key events of your state's history.