Chapitre 25 : Major Conflicts involving the USA (in America) Several times in their History, the USA have had to fight on their own territories to assure their freedom and their independence. Before they gained their independence, the British colonies fought the local Indian populations. During th the 17 century, several wars (Pequot war, King Philip’s war) th devastated the traditional way of life of native Americans. In the 18 Milestones : th and 19 centuries, US Americans settled in most of the native Americans’ territories, leading to some battles, like the battle of Fallen Timber in 1794. During the rush to gold, white settlers suffered from - 1622 : The bloody slaughter in skirmishes, and the US government responded by military actions Virginia sparked the Indian against the Sioux and Cheyenne tribes. Finally, Geronimo, the last wars Indian Chief, surrendered in 1886 and the Indian wars ended with the - 1636-1637 : The Pequot War : clash of the Wounded Knee between Sioux reserves and US troops in all the Pequot popuation was 1890. massacred - 1675-1676 :King Philip’s war, The first conflict of the United States of America was the War of led England to forbid any white Independence (1775-1783), also called the American Revolution by settlement beyond the the English. It opposed the thirteen original colonies to the United Appalachians Kingdom. The war was due to British taxation on colonial exploitation - 1886 : Geronimo surrendered and refusal of England to let Americans participate in their own to the US troops policies. The tensions spread when British troops opened fire on - 1890 : The Indian wars ended American demonstrators, the Boston Massacre (1770) and when the Boston Tea Party dumped a cargo full of tea in the Boston Harbor. The war stopped when the British were defeated at Yorktown with the help - 1775 – 1783 : the War of of the French in 1781 and when the Peace of Versailles was signed in Independence 1783. However, the war restarted in 1812 because of disputes about - 1770 : The Boston Massacre the border with Canada. Finally, the peace was signed in 1814 after - 1773 : The Boston Tea Party the capture of Washington DC by British troops. - 1783 : The Peace of Versailles - 1812 – 1814 : The USA The Mexican-American War, from 1846 to 1848, was a consequence declared war on Great-Britain of a clash about the border between the two nations. Mexico didn’t because of border disputes th recognize the Rio Grande as the border. After the failure of the USA to - December, 24 1814 : The purchase the California and the New Mexico states, and after attacks Treaty of Ghent confirmed the against the American troops, US General Zachary Taylor invaded American Independence Mexico as far as Mexico City. Finally, the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo guaranteed the USA the possession of California and New Mexico and also a part of Texas for $15m. - 1846 – 1848 : The MexicanAmerican War The Civil War started in 1861, opposing the Southern and the Northern States on the issue of slavery. The Southern States’ economy was based on the agricultural exploitations, therefore on the large - March 1811 : Lincoln was manpower of slaves, contrary to the Northern States’ economy which elected was based on industry and that took advantage of the cheap labour - 1861 - 1865 : The Civil War th force of migrants. Some crises emerged when new States wanted to - April 9 1865 : The defeats of determine if they should permit or prohibit slavery. In 1861, when Gettysburg and Vicksburg Abraham Lincoln took his office, 11 states created a separate nation : ended the war, General Lee the Confederate States of America, led by President Jefferson Davis. surrendered to General They fought for 4 years against the Northern States despite a number Grant disadvantage, but General Lee (a confederate general) had to surrender and this ended the war after the defeats of Gettysburg and Vicksburg. Lincoln was assassinated by a confederate sympathiser five days after Lee’s surrender. The war was very expensive and killed 620,000 american soldiers. It was the most costly war of american History in terms of human losses, and the last conflict on the US soil.
