History to 1865

SEQ CHAPTER \h \r 1 American history is a unique subject to study as it has many problems associated with the investigation of the past especially to 1865 . American history began as simply the history of the Native peoples of the country and as time progressed and Europeans began to arrive , the country was occupied by various groups of people , from the Spaniards to the English , from the French to the Germans . People from many different home countries made their mark on American history making it difficult to gather together all of the

information needed to really understand in full the way that America 's past happened

The beginnings of America 's history are difficult to understand because the Native Americans did not keep any written records , so all of the information about that part of history is limited to what archaeology teaches us and what the incoming Europeans wrote about them . As the Europeans arrive , a whole new set of problems arise : how do you distinguish what is fact about history from what is a biased opinion , or an opinion that is influenced by the staunch religious and ethnic beliefs of the . Since America was such a multi-cultural society right from the start , the study of its history is uniquely difficult to understand without understanding all of the various parts of the cultures that are introduced

The lack of cohesive government at the beginning and the eventual institution of slavery further muddy the waters of American history because the truth lies somewhere in between the lines of each side of the argument . Also , many early Americans were not able to tell their own stories , as is the case of the Native Americans , the slaves , and eventually other groups , such as the Chinese and the Italians . Without the ability to write , they couldn 't tell their story . American history is really a merging of the history of many different peoples and it is difficult sometimes to understand the history of the United States without understanding the history of the people who created it . American history , likes its people , is unique and beautiful , but sometimes harsh . PAGE

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