Text | Lanzi Ji
Ed Lanzi Ji
I'm sure you're all aware of what America is like today.
However, when looking back on that magnificent and earth-shaking period of history, I wonder if you have the same deep emotional resonance for that period of history as the author?
In the next few days, let's take North America in 1783 as a starting point, accompanied by 7 precious historical maps, vividly showing the cultural collision and territorial expansion scenes of the United States at that time...
North America in 1783
September 3, 1783, left an indelible mark on the history of the world.
At this time, with the signing of the Treaty of Paris, Britain formally recognized the independence of the United States of America, announced the withdrawal of all its naval and army forces, and agreed to negotiate peacefully to demarcate the border between Canada and the United States.
What is even more remarkable is that out of respect for the spirit of international law and the consideration of the peaceful development of the two countries, Britain also voluntarily returned the controversial Florida to Spain.
These actions undoubtedly reveal that Britain has a deep understanding and awareness of its national interests and the world situation, and also shows that it is diligent in its pursuit of long-term peace and stability.
Medicine and health in 1738-1886
Over the course of 148 years, the medical and health field in the United States underwent many changes and evolutions between 1738 and 1886.
The completion of Williamsburg, the capital of the United States, in 1773 marked the birth of the first public psychiatric hospital funded by Congress.
This is a significant step forward, which not only represents a gradual increase in people's attention to mental health issues, but also provides the courage and support for those at the bottom of society to fight, which is of great historical significance.
A 1793 outbreak of yellow fever in the famous city of Philadelphia forced the government to set up a special sanitation and cleaning agency to respond to the public health crisis.
These emergencies have led to a reminder of the importance of sanitation and related infrastructure for human survival, and a harbinger of how we will work to improve water quality and sanitation for hundreds of years to come.
In 1832, a nationwide cholera epidemic threatened the lives of residents in many cities.
Faced with this huge challenge, cities are spending huge sums of money to upgrade and repair their water systems to ensure safe drinking water for their citizens.
Although this difficulty has cost us a lot, it has left a valuable lesson for future generations - focusing on the construction of basic sanitation facilities is one of the necessary prerequisites to ensure the quality of life of the people.
In 1842, at the Rochester Dental Clinic, ether became known for its first use in the extraction of a patient's tooth, relieving pain and greatly reducing the risk of misuse.
Between 1860 and 1873, nursing schools sprung up across the country.
Many pioneers, such as Bellevue Hospital, initiated and promoted the development of this great cause.
However, this was only the beginning, and the rapid expansion of nursing schools from a few 15 to 432 during this period undoubtedly reflected a significant improvement in the overall medical standard of American society at that time.
Social problems of 1792-1860
From 1792 to 1860, a series of "social problems" emerged in the history of the United States.
For example, the exploitation and oppression of the toiling working class has increased, and they have launched mass strikes in order to fight for better wages.
In 1792, Philadelphia shoemakers formed the first union in the United States.
This is one of the few times in the history of the United States that the working class has stood up against oppression and sought its own rights.
This union formed spontaneously by workers was of great significance, as it broke the boundaries of interest groups in the previous monolithic structure and opened up a new path of struggle, which became one of the key factors in promoting the transformation of American history.
In 1825, the British social reformer Robert Owen established a collective community.
He was deeply aware of the serious shortcomings of the capitalist system, so he decided to improve the lives of workers and promote social harmony by creating collective communities.
In 1830 Francis Lowell established a "model" factory.
He advocated replacing rough management with humane management methods, and advocated that workers should enjoy more rights and rights.
However, social change was not always smooth, and the Irish workers' revolt of 1834 exposed some serious problems.
At that time, Irish workers were dissatisfied with the extremely unfair wages and rallied for a fierce strike, but this led to a strong crackdown by the authorities, resulting in a large number of casualties and even social unrest.
In 1860, 2,000 shoemakers went on strike for higher wages, and the trend spread throughout New England.
The strike originated from the low wages and harsh working conditions that manufacturing workers complained about.
Unsurprisingly, this large-scale protest eventually yielded many tangible results, not only in terms of higher pay and welfare for workers, but also in terms of increasing the level of respect for the working class among the general public.
Barbary War of 1801-1815
From 1790 to 1800, the U.S. government generously paid more than $2 million in protection money in exchange for the respect and protection of the Barbary pirates.
During this period, Libya's rulers, such as their leaders, took the opportunity to raise the amount of protection they demanded, culminating in a blatant declaration of war against the United States in May 1801.
In this situation, the U.S. Navy quickly launched a full-scale patrol operation along the coastline, imposed a tight naval blockade on Libya, and went all out to deal with the threat of piracy.
Despite this, the pirates continued to plunder American ships with impunity, inflicting huge losses on the country.
Thus, from the signing of the peace agreement until June 1805, the U.S. military was resolute in dealing with these pirates, so that the pirates finally agreed to stop their attacks on American ships.
In order to ensure the security of American trade abroad, the American regime continued to pay for the purchase of political protection rights in consideration of other Barbary countries, and this situation was ensured until 1815.
This accepted fact proves that even the once brutal and vicious pirates had their weaknesses.
The United States declared war on Britain in 1812
At the beginning of the 19th century, the European powers were actively expanding their territory and sphere of influence, and the French Emperor Napoleon showed extraordinary ambition and ability, and quickly rose to become the main protagonist in the turmoil on the European continent.
In this context, Britain, as one of the hegemons of the Western world, began to adopt more tough measures to balance other countries in order to maintain its maritime hegemony.
Britain imposed severe restrictions on the foreign trade of the geographically adjacent countries of the Americas, especially the emerging United States, and strictly forbade American ships and merchants from doing business with France, its ally.
As soon as the ban was announced, it was immediately met with strong opposition from the American public, who considered the policy to be overbearing and unreasonable, and seriously violated their right to free trade.
However, events did not turn out as expected.
As the French people's revolt became increasingly fierce, their armies also made remarkable achievements on the battlefield.
These victories not only revived hope for the French, but also deeply disturbed the British government.
Under these circumstances, the British decided to go even more extreme, and they forcibly detained a large number of innocent American civilians to join the navy in the service of the Royal Fleet.
This move has undoubtedly caused an uproar in American society, and many people of insight have come forward to criticize the cruelty and unreasonableness of Britain's foreign behavior.
In addition, in order to support its tribal allies in North America, the Shawnee Indians, the British even provided them with large quantities of guns and ammunition so that they could protect their homeland.
The events that further aggravated Anglo-American relations took place in 1811.
In November of that year, the Battle of Tippercanu, located in New England, began, and the Americans performed impressively in this battle.
The victory was widely cheered and celebrated in American society, with some Americans even thinking of annexing neighboring Canada, while others advocated the inclusion of Spanish Florida in their territory.
The American-British War of 1812-1815
The American advance into Canada was halted at Detroit in August 1812.
In July 1812, American troops surrendered at Fort Mackinac.
The American advance in August 1812 failed due to miscommand.
From December 1812, the British blockade extended to the north of Cape Cod. By April 1814 the blockade was ended.
In June 1813, British captured the American escort ship Chesapeake at Cape Cod.
In August 1814, the British army suffered a setback in the attack on Fort Erie.
On August 24-25, 1814, British troops burned the Capitol and other major government buildings and some private residences in Washington.
In September 1814, British forces attacked Baltimore, but were repulsed.
In September 1814, the U.S. Navy won at Lake Champlain.
Battles with the Indians in 1784-1820 and their territorial cession
For more than 40 years, from the late eighteenth century to the early nineteenth century, an inevitable but cruel fate befell the Indians, the United States government launched a series of brutal military campaigns against them, forcing the Indians to move further west to the frontier.
This process was not achieved overnight, but was the result of several ongoing wars and a series of treaty negotiations.
As the pioneering pace of the emerging nation continued to advance westward, its territory continued to expand, eventually inevitably touching the homeland of the Indians.
In this unpredictable situation, the U.S. government resorted to two ways to divide and divide the lands of the Indians – by means of fierce armed conflict and through carefully planned treaty negotiations.
The interplay of these two methods has led to the dwindling land of the Indian community.
The victors used their military might to force the Indians to leave their homeland.
The Indians, on the other hand, had to rely on their solidarity and tenacity in desperation to resist the white invasion.
In this process, we can clearly see the ugly side of human nature - cruelty, ruthlessness, and greed.
For the Indian nation, this history is undoubtedly a painful memory, and for the United States government, it is irrefutable evidence of human rights violations in order to serve its own interests.
epilogue
The world is changing rapidly, and personnel are flowing like a shuttle, and the long river of history is also up and down.
Time flies, time passes quietly, and the symbols on every map, and every inch of the earth have living things, all of which record the brilliant and glorious course of human civilization.
After countless vicissitudes of life, a suspenseful macro vein full of historical vicissitudes will always be created, which is not only a ruthless engraving of the wind and frost of the years, but also a prominent witness to the progress of civilization.
As far as the eye can see, we will see that the American continent, a magical land bathed in endless sunshine, has experienced countless times of prosperity and decay, glory and humiliation, prosperity and destruction, and each other shines brightly.
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