Europeans Cross the Atlantic to North America

After the arrival of Columbus in the Gulf of Mexico, other Europeans soon followed. Promises of fortune and opportunities to spread and freely practice Christianity attracted numbers of Europeans to the North American continent. Settlements were created across the eastern shores of the present day United States. Early on, European powers competed for dominance of differing regions and its peoples. Over time, the English colonists came to dominate much of the North American continent.

Soon other expeditions to the North American continent were commissioned. Some settlements in modern day Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island found success. By utilizing friendly relations with Native Americans, trade helped the European travelers survive. The long journey to the new world was difficult and the establishment of settlements was often times a struggle.

The first successful English colony was founded in Jamestown, Virginia in 1607. The original settlers arrived on three ships with orders from England. The settlers were tasked to find a site that was both a natural harbor and protected from other European naval powers. The settlers sailed up the Chesapeake Bay into the James River. Inside the James River they found a natural island and harbor that provided a defensive position with which the first English settlement could take hold. With protection from hostile Native Americans and European navies, the settlers found modest success, thus establishing the Jamestown Colony for King James of England. 

Settlements were not always successful. Settlers who founded the Roanoke Colony in modern North Carolina met a fate unknown to modern historians. Most unsuccessful settlements were due to disease, starvation, conflict with Native Americans, and weather catastrophes. The colonists at Roanoke however, simply disappeared.  After the initial setup of the settlement, the English colonists, who traded in corn, potatoes, and tobacco for profit, were no longer there. The only clue left behind was the word "Croatoan" carved into a tree. Because the crossing of the Atlantic was a long journey, and because of the war with Spain the settlers at Roanoke did not have a resupply ship for three years. Most historians believe that the approximate 100 settlers were either massacred or assimilated into the local Native American tribes.

After approximately 200 years the successful settlements grew and profited. The eastern coast of the modern United States finds its roots in the original British North American 13 Colonies. These colonies were: Connecticut, Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Georgia, Massachusetts, Maryland, South Carolina, New Hampshire, Virginia, New York, North Carolina, and Rhode Island. Eventually these colonies would unite and declare their independence from England. As a result, the American Revolution occurred creating the opportunity for the colonists to create a new type of government. In 1787 the 13 colonies became the United States under one set of laws outlined in a Constitution.