USA
HISTORY
IN BRIEF
,George Washington addressing the
Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia, 1787.
,INTRODUCTION
T he history of the United
States has been an
experiment in democracy
for more than 200 years. Issues
that were addressed in the
early years continue to be
addressed and resolved today:
big government versus small
government, individual rights
versus group rights, unfettered
capitalism versus regulated
commerce and labor, engagement
with the world versus isolationism.
The expectations for American
democracy have always been
high, and the reality has
sometimes been disappointing.
Yet the nation has grown and
prospered, through a continual
process of adaptation and
compromise.
1
, Early America
A t the height of the most recent Ice Age, about 35,000
years ago, much of the world’s water was locked up
in vast continental ice sheets. A land bridge as much
as 1,500 kilometers wide connected Asia and North America. By
12,000 years ago, humans were living throughout much of the
Western Hemisphere.
The first Americans crossed the land bridge from Asia
and were believed to have stayed in what is now Alaska for
2
HISTORY
IN BRIEF
,George Washington addressing the
Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia, 1787.
,INTRODUCTION
T he history of the United
States has been an
experiment in democracy
for more than 200 years. Issues
that were addressed in the
early years continue to be
addressed and resolved today:
big government versus small
government, individual rights
versus group rights, unfettered
capitalism versus regulated
commerce and labor, engagement
with the world versus isolationism.
The expectations for American
democracy have always been
high, and the reality has
sometimes been disappointing.
Yet the nation has grown and
prospered, through a continual
process of adaptation and
compromise.
1
, Early America
A t the height of the most recent Ice Age, about 35,000
years ago, much of the world’s water was locked up
in vast continental ice sheets. A land bridge as much
as 1,500 kilometers wide connected Asia and North America. By
12,000 years ago, humans were living throughout much of the
Western Hemisphere.
The first Americans crossed the land bridge from Asia
and were believed to have stayed in what is now Alaska for
2
