COLONIAL HISTORY OF THE USA

8/10/2019 COLONIAL HISTORY OF THE USA

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The colonial history of theUnited States covers thehistory of European settlementsfrom the start of colonization of

America until their incorporationinto the United States. In thelate 16th century, England,France, Spain and theNetherlands launched majorcolonization programs ineastern North America, Smallearly attemptssuch as theEnglish Lost Colony ofRoanokeoften disappeared;everywhere the death rate of

the first arrivals was very high.Nevertheless successful

colonies were established. European settlers came from a variety of social and religiousgroups. No aristocrats settled permanently, but a number of adventurers, soldiers, farmers,and tradesmen arrived. Diversity was an American characteristic as the Dutch of NewNetherland, the Swedes and Finns of New Sweden, the English Quakers ofPennsylvania,the English Puritans of New England, the English settlers of Jamestown, and the "worthypoor" of Georgia, came to the new continent and built colonies with distinctive social,religious, political and economic styles. Non-British colonies were taken over and theinhabitants were all assimilated, unlike in Nova Scotia, where the British expelled the French"Acadian" inhabitants. There were no major civil wars among the 13 colonies, and the two

chief armed rebellions (in Virginia in 1676 and in New York in 168991) were short-livedfailures. Wars between the French and the BritishtheFrench and Indian Wars andFatherRale's Warwere recurrent, and involved French support forWabanaki Confederacy attackson the frontiers. By 1760 France was defeated and the British seized its colonies.

The four distinct regions were: New England, the Middle Colonies, the Chesapeake BayColonies (Upper South) and the Lower South. Some historians add a fifth region, theFrontier, which was never separately organized. By the time European settlers arrivedaround 16001650, the majority of the Native Americans living in the eastern United Stateshad been decimated by new diseases, introduced to them decades before by explorers andsailors.

Most authorities believe that the Western hemisphere was populated at the end of the lastice age when a lowered ocean level exposed a land bridge that Asian peoples traversed toNorth America.

Later, the arriving European settlers discovered the existence of extensive civilizations. Inthe southern reaches of North America (present-day Mexico and Central America) theMayan civilization built sophisticated stone structures, developed an advanced numericalsystem and maintained extensive agricultural complexes. The Aztecs established a far-reaching empire that controlled much of present-day Mexico.

In the northern portions of North America the early native peoples are commonly dividedinto the following regional groups:
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The Eastern Woodland culture was located in the drainage area of the Mississippi Rivereast to the Atlantic Ocean and south from the Great Lakes to the Gulf of Mexico. Variousgroups of mound builders existed in this region.

The Plains culture existed on the open expanses of present-day Canada and the UnitedStates.

The Southwest culture occupied areas in present-day northern Mexico and the

southwestern United States. Notable within this grouping were the Pueblo societies inpresent-day New Mexico and Arizona.

TheFar West culture ranged from the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific Ocean.

TheNorthwest culture inhabited the coastal regions of the northwestern United States andwestern Canada

TheSubarctic culture stretched across Canada north of the Great Lakes and south of theArctic tree line, and across much of Alaska.

The Arctic culture occupied the treeless expanses in the extreme northern portions ofAlaska, Canada, and Greenland

Historical evidence for early European ventures to the New World is in dispute, but it appearsthat Norsemen, including Leif Eriksson , made voyages to the area toward the end of the10th century.

Europe lacked the technological skills and motivation to immediately follow the Vikings intothe New World. Conditions changed,however, during the 1400s.Portugal emerged as thefirst nation-state to engage in an organized effort to reach the lucrative Far Eastern marketsby means of an all-water route.

Next,Spanish exploration of the New World followed the voyages ofChristopher Columbus,1492-1504. Settlements were established in the hope of finding mineral wealth, convertingthe native populations to Christianity, and for the thrill of a great adventure.

England and France followed Spain into the Americas in the early 17th century, later to be

joined by Holland and, briefly, Sweden.

Northern European interest in exploration was fueled by the search for a NorthwestPassage. Later, attention was turned to the establishment of permanent colonies. TheEnglish failed in an effort atRoanoke Island in the 1580s, but succeeded atJamestown in1607. In 1620, a Pilgrim colony was established atPlymouth in present-dayMassachusetts,followed in 1630 by thePuritan colony ofMassachusetts Bay.

The white settlements in New England sparked interaction with local Native Americans,notably theNarragansett and thePequot.The ultimate failure of the relationships was seenin thePequot War (1637) andKing Philips War(1675-76).

GOALS OF COLONIZATION

Colonizers came from European kingdoms with highly developed military, naval,governmental and entrepreneurial capabilities. The Spanish and Portuguese centuries-oldexperience of conquest and colonization during the Reconquista,coupled with new oceanicship navigation skills, provided the tools, ability, and desire to colonize the New World.England, France and the Netherlands started colonies in both the West Indies and NorthAmerica. They had the ability to build ocean-worthy ships, but did not have as strong ahistory of colonization in foreign lands as did Portugal and Spain. However, Englishentrepreneurs gave their colonies a base of merchant-based investment that needed muchless government support.

MERCANTILISM

Mercantilism was the basic policy imposed by Britain on its colonies from the 1660s.Mercantilism meant that the government and merchants based in England became partners
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with the goal of increasing political power and private wealth, to the exclusion of otherempires and even merchants based in its own colonies. The government protected itsLondon-based merchantsand kept others outby trade barriers, regulations, and subsidiesto domestic industries in order to maximize exports from and minimize imports to the realm.The government had to fight smuggling, especially by American merchants, some of whoseactivities (which included direct trade with the French, Spanish, Dutch, and Portuguese) wereclassified as such by the Navigation Acts. The goal of mercantilism was to run tradesurpluses, so that gold and silver would pour into London. The government took its sharethrough duties and taxes, with the remainder going to merchants in Britain. The governmentspent much of its revenue on a superb Royal Navy, which not only protected the Britishcolonies but threatened the colonies of the other empires, and sometimes seized them. Thusthe British Navy captured New Amsterdam (New York) in 1664. The colonies were captivemarkets for British industry, and the goal was to enrich the mother country.

EARLY COLONIAL FAILURES

Numerous colonies failed in the beginning of the settlement era. The colonists faced high

rates of death because of disease, starvation, inefficient resupply or wars with NativeAmericans or other European powers.

Spain had numerous failed attempts, including San Miguel de Gualdape in Georgia in 1526;Pnfilo de Narvez in Florida in 152836;Pensacola in West Florida 155961;Fort San Juanin North Carolina 156768; and theAjacn Mission 157071, in Virginia.

The French failed at Parris Island, South Carolina in 156263; Fort Caroline, Florida, in156465;Saint Croix Island, Maine 1604-5; andFort Saint Louis, Texas in 168589.

The most notable English failures were the "Lost Colony of Roanoke" (158790) in North

Carolina andPopham Colony in Maine (16078). It was at the Roanoke Colony thatVirginiaDare became the first English child born in the Americas; her fate is unknown.

COLONIAL PERIOD: The Thirteen Colonies in North America

Settlers from Europe came to America and claimed land in the 17th century. These peoplemainly came from Spain, England, Holland and France. The first colony was at Jamestown(1607). More and more settlers came and so more and more colonies arose on the NorthEast coast of the Atlantic.

Most land belonged to England and France. These two countries fought for control of NorthAmerica in the French and Indian war (1756 - 1773). There the English fought against Franceand the Indians. The English won the war and got control of Canada and all 13 colonies.

On July 4, 1776 they proclaimed their independence as the United States of America.

The following are the 13 original colonies, plus Maine, listed alphabetically with thegenerally recognized founding dates in parentheses:

Connecticut(1636)Delaware(1638)Georgia(1732)

Maryland(1634)Massachusetts(1620)
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New Hampshire(1630)New Jersey(1660)New York(1626)North Carolina(1653)Pennsylvania(1682)Rhode Island(1636)South Carolina(1670)Virginia(1607)

On two occasions in the 17th century, effortswere made to formulate a rudimentary unionamong the New England colonies: TheNewEngland Confederation and theDominion ofNew England .

Britain ruled her worldwide empire, includingthe American colonies, under the terms ofan economic theory known asmercantilism.It was the attempt to enforce this system

that provided fuel for the AmericanRevolution.

All of the colonies were to some degreeimpacted in the 18th century by a Contestfor Empire, which pitted the great worldpowers, France and England, against one another. The most significant North Americanphase of this conflict was theFrench and Indian War (1754-63).

Each of the thirteen colonies developed its own system of self-government, based largely onindependent farmers who owned their own land, voted for their local and provincial

government, and served on local juries. In some of the colonies, especially Virginia, theCarolinas and Georgia, there were also substantial populations of African slaves. Following aseries of protests over taxes in the 1760s and 1770s, these colonies united politically andmilitarily in opposition to the British government and fought theAmerican Revolutionary War,17751783. In 1776, they declared their independence, and achieved that goal with thesigning of theTreaty of Paris (1783).

Before independence, the thirteen were among two dozen separate colonies in BritishAmerica. Those in the British West Indies, Newfoundland, the Province of Quebec, NovaScotia andEast andWest Florida remained loyal to the crown throughout the war. Althoughthere was a degree of sympathy with the Patriot cause in several of them, their geographical

isolation and the dominance of British naval power precluded any effective participation.

GROWTH

British colonies in North America, circa1750. 1:Newfoundland;2:Nova Scotia;3: The Thirteen Colonies; 4:Bermuda;5:Bahamas;6:British Honduras (was Spanish c1750: became British in 1798);7: Jamaica; 8: British Leeward IslandsandBarbados

North American colonies 176376, illustrating and territorial claims
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In 1775, the British claimed authority over the red and pink areas onthis map andSpain claimed the orange. The red area is the area ofsettlement; most lived within 50 miles of theocean.

State land claims based on colonial charters, and later cessions tothe U.S. government, 17821802

Contemporary documents usually list the thirteen colonies ofBritishNorth America in geographical order, from the north to the south.

New England Colonies

Province of New Hampshire,laterNew Hampshire,a crown colony Province of Massachusetts Bay,laterMassachusetts andMaine,a crown colony Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, later Rhode Island, a crown

colony Connecticut Colony,laterConnecticut,a crown colony

Middle Colonies

Province of New York,laterNew York andVermont,[2]a crown colony Province of New Jersey,laterNew Jersey,a crown colony Province of Pennsylvania,laterPennsylvania,a proprietary colony Delaware Colony (before 1776, the Lower Counties on Delaware), later Delaware,a

proprietary colony

Southern Colonies

(Virginia and Maryland comprised theChesapeake Colonies)

Province of Maryland,laterMaryland,a proprietary colony Colony and Dominion of Virginia,laterVirginia,Kentucky,andWest Virginia,a crown

colony Province of North Carolina,laterNorth Carolina andTennessee,a crown colony Province of South Carolina,laterSouth Carolina,a crown colony Province of Georgia, later Georgia,northern sections of Alabama and Mississippi,a

crown colony

Other divisions prior to 1730

Dominion of New England

Created in 1685 by a decree from King James II that consolidated Maine,New Hampshire,Massachusetts Bay Colony,Plymouth Colony,Rhode Island,Connecticut,Province of New

York,East Jersey, and West Jersey into a single larger colony. The experiment collapsedafter the Glorious Revolution of 168889, and the nine former colonies re-established theirseparate identities in 1689.
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Massachusetts Bay Colony

Settled in 1630 by Puritans from England. The colonial charter was revoked in 1684, and anew charter establishing an enlargedProvince of Massachusetts Bay was issued in 1691.

Province of Maine

Settled in 1622 (An earlier attempt to settle the Popham Colony in Sagadahoc, Maine (nearpresent day Phippsburg and Popham Beach State Park) in 1607 was abandoned after onlyone year). The Massachusetts Bay Colony claimed the Maine territory (then limited topresent-day southernmost Maine) in the 1650s. Parts of Maine east of theKennebec Riverwere alsopart of New York in the second half of the 17th century. These areas were formallymade part of the Province of Massachusetts Bay in the charter of 1691.

Plymouth Colony

Settled in 1620 by the Pilgrims.Plymouth was merged into the Province of MassachusettsBay in the charter of 1691.

Saybrook Colony

Founded in 1635 and merged with Connecticut Colony in 1644.

New Haven Colony

Settled in late 1637. New Haven was absorbed by Connecticut Colony with the issuance ofthe Connecticut Charter in 1662, partly as royal punishment by King Charles II for harboringthe regicide judges who sentenced King Charles I to death.

East JerseyandWest Jersey

Settled as part of New Netherland in the 1610s, New Jersey was captured (along with NewYork) by English forces in 1664. New Jersey was divided into two separate colonies in 1674,which were reunited in 1702.

Province of CarolinaFounded in 1663. Carolina colony was divided into two colonies, North Carolina and SouthCarolina, in 1712. Both colonies became royal colonies in 1729.

POPULATION

(Note: the population figures are estimates by historians; they do not include the native tribesoutside the jurisdiction of the colonies; they do includeNatives living under colonial control, as well as slavesand indentured servants.)

By 1776 about 85% of the white population was ofEnglish, Irish, Scottish or Welsh descent, with 9% ofGerman origin and 4% Dutch. These populationscontinued to grow at a rapid rate throughout the 18thcentury primarily because of high birth rates, andrelatively low death rates. Immigration was a minorfactor from 1774 to 1830. Over 90% were farmers, withseveral small cities that were also seaports linking thecolonial economy to the larger British Empire.

Population of American Colonies

Year Population

1625 1,980

1641 50,000

1688 200,000

1702 270,000

1715 435,000

1749 1,000,000

1754 1,500,000

1765 2,200,000

1775 2,400,000
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SLAVES

Slavery was legal and practiced in each of the Thirteen Colonies. In most places it involved

Slaves imported into Colonial America

Years Number

16201700 21,000

17011760 189,00017611770 63,000

17711780 15,000 Total 287,000

house servants or farm workers. It was of economic importance in the export-orientedtobacco plantations of Virginia and Maryland, and the rice and indigo plantations of SouthCarolina.About 287,000 slaves were imported into the Thirteen Colonies, or 2% of the 12million slaves brought across from Africa. The great majority went to sugar colonies in theCaribbean and to Brazil, where life expectancy was short and the numbers had to becontinually replenished. Life expectancy was much higher in the U.S. Combined with a veryhigh birth rate, the numbers grew rapidly by excesses of births over deaths, reaching nearly 4

million by the 1860 census. From 1770 until 1860, the rate of natural growth of NorthAmerican slaves was much greater than for the population of any nation in Europe, and wasnearly twice as rapid as that of England. However, Tadman attributes this to very high birthrates: "U.S. slaves, then, reached similar rates of natural increase to whites not because ofany special privileges but through a process of great suffering and material deprivation".

GOVERNMENT

British settlers did not come to the American colonies with the intention of creating ademocratic system, yet by doing so without a land-owning aristocracy they created a broad

electorate and a pattern of free and frequent elections that put a premium on voterparticipation. The colonies offered a much broader franchise than England or indeed anyother country. White men with enough property could vote for members of the lower house ofthe legislature, and in Connecticut and Rhode Island they could even vote for governor.

Legitimacy for a voter meant having an "interest" in society as the South Carolinalegislature said in 1716, "it is necessary and reasonable, that none but such persons willhave an interest in the Province should be capable to elect members of the Commons Houseof Assembly." Women, children, indentured servants and slaves were subsumed under theinterest of the family head. The main legal criterion for having an "interest" was ownership ofproperty, which was narrowly based in Britain, and nineteen out of twenty men werecontrolled politically by their landlords. London insisted on it for the colonies, telling governors

to exclude men who were not freeholders (that is, did not own land) from the ballot.Nevertheless land was so widely owned that 50% to 80% of the white men were eligible tovote.

The colonial political culture emphasized deference, so that local notables were the men whoran and were chosen. But sometimes they competed with each other, and had to appeal tothe common man for votes. There were no political parties, and would-be legislators formedad-hoc coalitions of their families, friends, and neighbors. Outside Puritan New England,election day brought in all the men from the countryside to the county seat to make merry,politick, shake hands with the grandees, and meet old friends, hear the speeches and all thewhile toasting, eating, treating, tippling, gaming and gambling. They voted by shouting their

choice to the clerk, as supporters cheered or booed. Candidate George Washington spent39 for treats for his supporters. The candidates knew they had to "swill the planters withbumbo (rum)." Elections were carnivals where all men were equal for one day and traditionalrestraints relaxed.
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The actual rate of voting ranged from 20% to 40% of all adult white males. The rates werehigher in Pennsylvania and New York, where long-standing factions, based on ethnic andreligious groups, mobilized supporters at a higher rate. New York and Rhode Islanddeveloped long-lasting two-faction systems that held together for years at the colony level,but did not reach into local affairs. The factions were based on the personalities of a fewleaders and an array of family connections, however, had little basis in policy or ideology.Elsewhere the political scene was in a constant whirl, and based on personality rather thanlong-lived factions or serious disputes on issues.

The colonies were independent of each other before 1774 as efforts led byBenjamin Franklinto form a colonial union through theAlbany Congress of 1754 had failed. The thirteen all hadwell established systems of self-government and elections based on the Rights ofEnglishmen, which they were determined to protect from imperial interference. The vastmajority of white men were eligible to vote.

Economic policy

The British Empire at the time operated under the mercantile system,where all trade wasconcentrated inside the Empire, and trade with other empires was forbidden. The goal was toenrich Britainits merchants and its government. Whether the policy was good for thecolonists was not an issue in London, but Americans became increasingly restive withmercantilist policies.

Mercantilism meant that the government and the merchants became partners with the goal ofincreasing political power and private wealth, to the exclusion of other empires. Thegovernment protected its merchantsand kept others outby trade barriers, regulations,and subsidies to domestic industries in order to maximize exports from and minimize importsto the realm. The government had to fight smugglingwhich became a favorite American

technique in the 18th century to circumvent the restrictions on trading with the French,Spanish or Dutch. The tactic used by mercantilism was to run trade surpluses, so that goldand silver would pour into London. The government took its share through duties and taxes,with the remainder going to merchants in Britain. The government spent much of its revenueon a superb Royal Navy, which not only protected the British colonies but threatened thecolonies of the other empires, and sometimes seized them. Thus the British Navy capturedNew Amsterdam (New York) in 1664. The colonies were captive markets for British industry,and the goal was to enrich the mother country.

LEGISLATION PRIOR TO 1763

Britain implemented mercantilism by trying to block American trade with the French, Spanishor Dutch empires using the Navigation Acts, which Americans avoided as often as theycould. The royal officials responded to smuggling with open-ended search warrants (Writs ofAssistance). In 1761, Boston lawyer James Otis argued that the writs violated theconstitutional rights of the colonists. He lost the case, but John Adams later wrote, "Then andthere the child Independence was born."

However, the colonists took pains to argue that they did not oppose British regulation of theirexternal trade, they only opposed legislation which was thought to impact them internally.

In 1762, Patrick Henry argued the Parson's Cause in the Colony of Virginia, where thelegislature had passed a law and it was vetoed by the king. Henry argued, "that a King, bydisallowing Acts of this salutary nature, from being the father of his people, degenerated intoa Tyrant and forfeits all right to his subjects' obedience".
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Following their victory in theFrench and Indian War in 1763, Great Britain took control of theFrench holdings in North America, outside the Caribbean. The British sought to maintainpeaceful relations with those Indian tribes that had allied with the French, and keep themseparated from the American frontiersmen. To this end, the Royal Proclamation of 1763restricted settlement west of the Appalachian Mountains as this was designated an IndianReserve.Disregarding the proclamation, some groups of settlers continued to move west andestablish farms. The proclamation was soon modified and was no longer a hindrance tosettlement, but the fact that it had been promulgated without their prior consultation angeredthe colonists.

COMING OF AMERICAN REVOLUTION

Beginning with the intense protests over the Stamp Act of 1765,the Americans insisted onthe principle of "no taxation without representation", representation being understood in thecontext of Parliament directly levying the duty or excise tax, and thus by-passing the coloniallegislatures, which had levied taxes on the colonies in the monarch's stead prior to 1763.They argued that, as the colonies had no representation in the British Parliament, it was a

violation of their rights as Englishmen for taxes to be imposed upon them. Those other Britishcolonies that had assemblies largely agreed with those in the Thirteen Colonies, but theywere thoroughly controlled by the British Empire and the Royal Navy, so protests werehopeless.

Parliament rejected the colonial protests and asserted its authority by passing new taxes.Trouble escalated over the tea tax, as Americans in each colony boycotted the tea and inBoston, dumped the tea in the harbor during the Boston Tea Party in 1773. Tensionsescalated in 1774 as Parliament passed the laws known as the Intolerable Acts, which,among other things, greatly restricted self-government in the colony of Massachusetts. Inresponse the colonies formed extralegal bodies of elected representatives, generally known

asProvincial Congresses.Colonists emphasized their determination by boycotting imports ofBritish merchandise. Later in 1774 twelve colonies sent representatives to the FirstContinental Congress inPhiladelphia.During theSecond Continental Congress the thirteenthcolony, Georgia, sent delegates. By spring 1775 all royal officials had been expelled from allthirteen colonies. The Continental Congress served as a de facto national governmentthrough the war that raised an army to fight the British and named George Washington itscommander, made treaties, declared independence, and recommended that the colonieswrite constitutions and become states.

Other British colonies

At the time of the war Britain had seven other colonies on the Atlantic coast of North America:Newfoundland, Rupert's Land (the area around the Hudson Bay), Nova Scotia, PrinceEdward Island,East Florida,West Florida,and the Province of Quebec.There were othercolonies in the Americas as well, largely in theBritish West Indies.These colonies remainedloyal to the crown.

Newfoundland stayed loyal to Britain without question. It was exempt from the NavigationActs and shared none of the grievances of the continental colonies. It was tightly bound toBritain and controlled by the Royal Navy and had no assembly that could voice grievances.

Nova Scotia had a large Yankee element that had recently arrived from New England, andshared the sentiments of the Americans about demanding the rights of the British men. Theroyal government in Halifax reluctantly allowed the Yankees of Nova Scotia a kind of
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"neutrality." In any case, the island-like geography and the presence of the major Britishnaval base at Halifax made the thought of armed resistance impossible.

Quebec was inhabited by French Catholic settlers who came under British control in theprevious decade. The Quebec Act of 1774 gave them formal cultural autonomy within theempire, and many priests feared the intense Protestantism in New England. The Americangrievances over taxation had little relevance, and there was no assembly nor elections of anykind that could have mobilized any grievances. Even so the Americans offered membershipin the new nation and sent a military expedition that failed to capture Canada in 1775. MostCanadians remained neutral but some joined the American cause.

In the West Indies the elected assemblies of Jamaica, Grenada, and Barbados formallydeclared their sympathies for the American cause and called for mediation, but the otherswere quite loyal. Britain carefully avoided antagonizing the rich owners of sugar plantations(many of whom lived in London); in turn the planters' greater dependence on slavery madethem recognize the need for British military protection from possible slave revolts. Thepossibilities for overt action were sharply limited by the overwhelming power of Royal Navy in

the islands. During the war there was some opportunistic trading with American ships.

In Bermuda and the Bahamas local leaders were angry at the food shortages caused byBritish blockade of American ports. There was increasing sympathy for the American cause,including smuggling, and both colonies were considered "passive allies" of the United Statesthroughout the war. When an American naval squadron arrived in the Bahamas to seizegunpowder, the colony gave no resistance at all.

East Florida and West Florida were territories transferred to Britain during the French andIndian War from Spain by treaty. The few British colonists there needed protection fromattacks by Indians and Spanish privateers. After 1775, East Florida became a major base for

the British war effort in the South, especially in the invasions of Georgia and South Carolina.

However, Spain seized Pensacola in West Florida in 1781, then recovered both territories inthe Treaty of Paris that ended the war in 1783. Spain ultimately transferred the Floridaprovinces to the United States in 1819.

HISTORY OF THE FLAGS OF THE UNITED STATES

HISTORICAL PROGRESSION OF DESIGNS

Since 1818, a star for each new state has been added to the flag on the Fourth of Julyimmediately following each state's admission. In years which multiple states were admitted,

the number of stars on the flag jumped correspondingly; the most pronounced example ofthis is 1890, when five states were admitted within the span of a single year (North Dakota,South Dakota,Montana,andWashington in November 1889 andIdaho on July 3, 1890). Thischange has typically been the only change made with each revision of the flag since 1777,with the exception of changes in 1795 and 1818, which increased the number of stripes to 15and then returned it to 13, respectively.

As the exact pattern of stars was not specified prior to 1912, and the exact colors notspecified prior to 1934, many of the historical U.S. national flags shown below are typicalrather than official designs.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quebec_Act_of_1774http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Invasion_of_Canada_%281775%29http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jamaicahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grenadahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barbadoshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bermudahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bahamashttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/East_Floridahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Floridahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_and_Indian_Warhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_and_Indian_Warhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peace_of_Paris_%281783%29#Treaty_with_Spainhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fourth_of_Julyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Dakotahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Dakotahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montanahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washington_%28U.S._state%29http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Idahohttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Idahohttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washington_%28U.S._state%29http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montanahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Dakotahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Dakotahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fourth_of_Julyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peace_of_Paris_%281783%29#Treaty_with_Spainhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_and_Indian_Warhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_and_Indian_Warhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Floridahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/East_Floridahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bahamashttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bermudahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barbadoshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grenadahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jamaicahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Invasion_of_Canada_%281775%29http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quebec_Act_of_1774


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PROPOSED FUTURE DESIGNS

CABINET-LEVEL FLAGS


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OTHER FEDERAL FLAGS

Many agencies, departments, and offices of the U.S. federal government have their ownflags, guidons, or standards. Following traditional American vexillology, these usually consistof the agency's departmental seal on a blank opaque background, but not always.

STATE FLAGSAs examples, here are the six highest-rated U.S. state flags in terms of design quality,according to a 2001 survey by the North American Vexillological Association (NAVA).

Documents

COLONIAL HISTORY OF THE USA