Native Americans

The American Indians, also known as Native Americans, were the first people living in North America when the Europeans began to settle there.

Although many people think about the American Indians as a homogenous group, or a group of all the same kinds of people, they were actually many smaller groups known as tribes. The tribes had different languages, customs, foods, and cultures. Some of them were very large and others were very small. Only a small fraction of the original tribes still exist, because many of them were destroyed by the European settlers.

Today, the U.S. government officially recognizes 563 American Indian tribes. The Cherokee and the Navajo are the two biggest tribes. The Cherokees’ ancestral lands, or the land that belonged to their relatives many years ago, are in the area that is now the eastern and southeastern parts of the United States, especially where the states of Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina are today. But as the United States grew, most of the Cherokee were forced to relocate, or made to live in a new place even though they didn’t want to. The forced relocation is called the Trail of Tears because many Cherokee died while they were going to the new lands further west. Today, about 730,000 Cherokees live in the United States, mostly in the states of Oklahoma, New Mexico, and Texas.

The Navajo are the second-biggest tribe of American Indians, with almost 300,000 Navajos living in the United States today. Most of them live in Arizona, Utah, and New Mexico. In traditional Navajo society, only women could own animals and property. When people were married, the man moved into the woman’s home and the daughters inherited all the animals and property. The Navajo are famous silversmiths, making jewelry and other things out of silver. The Navajo are also famous for their weaving, making beautiful red blankets and rugs.

History The First President

There were many great men among the Founding Fathers (the people who helped to create the United States), but only one of them is called the “Father of our Country.” His name was George Washington, and although he is best known for having been the first president of the United States, he also did many other things to merit the title of “Father of our Country.”

Born in Virginia in 1732, George Washington was always very interested in the military. He was a very well-respected colonel and he fought many battles during the French and Indian War. When the new United States declared its independence from Britain, George Washington became the commander-in-chief in the Revolutionary War between Britain and America. He helped the United States win the war and secure its freedom.

When the war ended in 1783, Washington was tired of fighting. He wanted to return to his home in Virginia and work on his plantation. However, once he was there, he began to understand that there were many problems with the Articles of Confederation (the legal document that existed before the Constitution). He decided to help the other Founding Fathers create a new legal document for the country and went to participate in the Constitutional Convention. The other members of the Constitutional Convention unanimously voted to make him the president of the Convention. The Constitution was written under his leadership in 1787. Just two years later, in 1789, George Washington became the first president of the United States.

George Washington had a major influence on the United States as the country was developing. That is why he is often called the “Father of our Country.”