who was the first president born in the united states of america
Martin Van Buren With Jackson's strong support, Van Buren faced little opposition for the presidential nomination at the 1835 Democratic National Convention, and he defeated several Whig opponents in the 1836 presidential election. He was the first president to be born a United States citizen.[3] Of Dutch ancestry, he is the only president who spoke English as a second language. As president, Van Buren was blamed for the depression of 1837; hostile newspapers called him "Martin Van Ruin". He attempted to cure the economic problems by keeping control of federal funds in an independent treasury, rather than in state banks, but Congress would not approve of this until 1840. In foreign affairs, he denied the application of Texas for admission to the Union, unwilling to upset the balance of free and slave states in the Missouri Compromise, and hoping to avoid war with Mexico over Texas annexation. Additionally, relations with Britain and its colonies in Canada proved to be strained from the bloodless Aroostook War and the Caroline Affair. In the 1840 election, Van Buren was voted out of office, losing to Whig candidate William Henry Harrison.
American Revolution Tensions erupted into battle between Patriot militia and British regulars when the British attempted to capture and destroy Colonial military supplies at Lexington and Concord in April 1775. The conflict then developed into a global war, during which the Patriots (and later their French, Spanish, and Dutch allies) fought the British and Loyalists in what became known as the American Revolutionary War (1775â€“83). Each of the thirteen colonies formed a Provincial Congress that assumed power from the old colonial governments and suppressed Loyalism, and from there they built a Continental Army under the leadership of General George Washington. The Continental Congress determined King George's rule to be tyrannical and infringing the colonists' rights as Englishmen, and they declared the colonies free and independent states on July 2, 1776. The Patriot leadership professed the political philosophies of liberalism and republicanism to reject monarchy and aristocracy, and they proclaimed that all men are created equal.
Battles of Trenton and Princeton They are noted as the first successes won by Washington in the open field. They put new life into the American cause, and established Washington in the confidence of his troops and the country at large.[1]
United States Paleo-Indians migrated from Asia to the North American mainland at least 15,000 years ago.[23] European colonization began in the 16th century. The United States emerged from 13 British colonies along the East Coast. Numerous disputes between Great Britain and the colonies following the Seven Years' War led to the American Revolution, which began in 1775, and the subsequent Declaration of Independence in 1776. The war ended in 1783 with the United States becoming the first country to gain independence from a European power.[24] The current constitution was adopted in 1788, with the first ten amendments, collectively named the Bill of Rights, being ratified in 1791 to guarantee many fundamental civil liberties. The United States embarked on a vigorous expansion across North America throughout the 19th century, acquiring new territories,[25] displacing Native American tribes, and gradually admitting new states until it spanned the continent by 1848.[25] During the second half of the 19th century, the American Civil War led to the end of legal slavery in the country.[26][27] By the end of that century, the United States extended into the Pacific Ocean,[28] and its economy, driven in large part by the Industrial Revolution, began to soar.[29] The Spanish–American War and World War I confirmed the country's status as a global military power. The United States emerged from World War II as a global superpower, the first country to develop nuclear weapons, the only country to use them in warfare, and a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council. The end of the Cold War and the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 left the United States as the world's sole superpower.[30]