Ameri

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The Ameri blog

Explore American history with Ameri. Learn through 8 chronological courses, 161 lessons, interactive quizzes, and completion certificates.

12 12 articles

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  • A plain wooden speaker's platform with a tall podium and a single sheet of paper, standing in an autumn field at dusk with rows of small white grave markers behind it.
    General
    5 min read

    What Was the Gettysburg Address and Why Does It Matter?

    The Gettysburg Address was a two-minute speech Lincoln gave on November 19, 1863. Here is the context, what he said, why it endures and why five copies differ.

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  • A crowded wooden dock in 1783 where families with trunks and bundles wait beside a tall sailing ship, with a black cat sitting on a barrel.
    General
    5 min read

    What Happened to Loyalists After the American Revolution?

    Loyalists lost land, homes and sometimes their country after 1783. See where they went, how many left, what Britain paid them and why the numbers differ.

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  • A work crew of men in overalls building a stone bridge and planting trees in a mountain valley, a truck and shovels, sunrise.
    General
    4 min read

    How Did the New Deal Change the Federal Government?

    The New Deal of the 1930s created Social Security, bank insurance and new regulators. Here is how it expanded the federal government's role in American life.

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  • A rural landscape split down the middle: on the left a cotton field with a farmhouse, on the right a small factory town with chimneys, a stormy sky above and a cracked wooden fence between them.
    General
    4 min read

    What Caused the American Civil War?

    Slavery was at the center of the causes of the Civil War. Here is how politics, economics and a string of crises led the South to secede in 1860 and 1861.

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  • A long line of men in worn coats and hats waiting outside a plain bread kitchen on a grey city street, a closed bank door beside them.
    General
    4 min read

    What Caused the Great Depression?

    The Great Depression was not caused by the 1929 stock market crash alone. Here are the main causes, from bank failures and debt to tariffs and monetary policy.

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  • Two men in early 1800s coats shaking hands over a long table with a blank rolled parchment between them, a wide river with a steamboat and green plains seen through the window.
    General
    4 min read

    What Was the Louisiana Purchase and Why Did It Matter?

    In 1803 the United States bought about 828,000 square miles from France and roughly doubled its size. Here is how the deal came about and what it changed.

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  • A pair of golden scales perfectly balanced on a wooden table in a plain room, a blue block on one pan and a red block on the other, two men in 1820 coats shaking hands behind it.
    General
    4 min read

    What Was the Missouri Compromise?

    The Missouri Compromise of 1820 made Missouri a slave state and Maine a free one and banned slavery north of a line. Here is how it worked and why it failed.

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  • A long line of people in blankets and plain clothes walking on a muddy forest road in cold rain, a few wagons, bare trees, a solemn grey sky.
    General
    4 min read

    What Was the Trail of Tears?

    The Trail of Tears was the forced removal of Native nations from the Southeast in the 1830s. Here is what happened, who was affected and why it matters.

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  • Men in 1787 coats sit around a long table with a green cloth in a plain room with closed shutters, an empty armchair at the head of the table.
    General
    4 min read

    When Did the Constitutional Convention Start?

    The Constitutional Convention was set for May 14, 1787 but opened on May 25 in Philadelphia. Here is why it started late and what happened first.

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  • A colonial print shop in 1765 with a printer holding a sheet of paper with a large embossed stamp while colonists in tricorn hats crowd the doorway looking angry.
    General
    4 min read

    Why Did Colonists Object to the Stamp Act?

    The Stamp Act of 1765 taxed printed paper in the colonies. Here is why colonists opposed it so strongly and how the protest led toward revolution.

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  • Soldiers in blue uniforms marching away down a street from a large government building with columns, citizens watching from the sidewalk, early morning light.
    General
    4 min read

    Why Did Reconstruction End in 1877?

    Reconstruction tried to rebuild the South and protect the rights of freed people after the Civil War. Here is why it ended in 1877 and what followed.

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  • A British navy ship anchored in a misty Virginia river at dawn as small boats row toward it, with a plantation house among the trees on the far bank.
    General
    4 min read

    Why Did Enslaved African Americans Fight for the British?

    Many enslaved people joined the British because they offered freedom. Here is what Dunmore promised, what the Patriots offered, and what followed.

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