[redacted because, really, who gives a shit?]

[The Jovial One]

[redacted]

[man from space]

Slinger's posts have become very acrimonious toward many things in the past few months. I used to enjoy TRYING to follow whatever the fuck he was riffing on from day to day. It's no doubt a case of the dreaded reefer madness set in. In his case, weed's no doubt a gateway drug to stupidity and obsolescence. Any reply to his smoke-induced ravings do nothing but (s)toke his anger and resentment. I'll happily leave him alone, and look forward to his impending jail sentence. Best of luck, Bill.

[The Jovial One]

[redacted]

[FellOffTheWagon]

During the Second Quarter of the 19th century, the United States bulged westward across North America to the Pacific Ocean.

[The Jovial One]

[redacted]

[FellOffTheWagon]

While Americans recognize and celebrate collective achievements such as the writing of the Declaration of Independence, victory in the Revolutionary War, or the landing of a man on the Moon — it is individual accomplishment that is cherished the most. The "stars" of the aforementioned events — Thomas Jefferson, George Washington, and Neil Armstrong — outshine the collective constellation. One person's contribution can define the course and meaning of history.

Betsy Ross sewed the first American flag. When we view the flag, we think of liberty, freedom, pride, and Betsy Ross. The American flag flies on the moon, sits atop Mount Everest, is hurtling out in space. The flag is how America signs her name.

It is no surprise that Betsy Ross has become one of the most cherished figures of American History.

[Walt1028]

[The Jovial One]

[redacted]

[Brian202]

[donc13]

[J K Edwards]

[The Jovial One]

[redacted]

[FellOffTheWagon]

Spaniards explorers reached the present-day United States. The first confirmed landing in the continental US was by a Spaniard, Juan Ponce de León, who landed in 1513 at a lush shore he christened La Florida.
An anachronous map showing areas of the United States and other territories pertaining to the Spanish Empire over a period exceeding 400 years.
An anachronous map showing areas of the United States and other territories pertaining to the Spanish Empire over a period exceeding 400 years.

Within three decades of Ponce de León's landing, the Spanish became the first Europeans to reach the Appalachian Mountains, the Mississippi River, the Grand Canyon and the Great Plains. In 1540, De Soto undertook an extensive exploration of the present US and, in the same year, Francisco Vázquez de Coronado led 2,000 Spaniards and Mexican Indians across today's Arizona-Mexico border and traveled as far as central Kansas. Other Spanish explorers include Lucas Vásquez de Ayllón, Pánfilo de Narváez, Sebastián Vizcaíno, Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo, Gaspar de Portolà, Pedro Menéndez de Avilés, Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca, Tristán de Luna y Arellano and Juan de Oñate.

The Spanish sent some settlers, creating the first permanent European settlement in the continental United States at St. Augustine, Florida, in 1565 and later Santa Fe, New Mexico, San Antonio, Tucson, San Diego, Los Angeles and San Francisco. Most Spanish settlements were along the California coast or the Sante Fe River in New Mexico.

[J K Edwards]

[FellOffTheWagon]

The strip of land along the seacoast was settled primarily by English colonists in the 17th century, along with much smaller numbers of Dutch and Swedes. Colonial America was defined by a severe labor shortage that gave birth to forms of unfree labor such as slavery and indentured servitude, and by a British policy of benign neglect (salutary neglect) that permitted the development of an American spirit distinct from that of its European founders.

The first successful English colony was established in 1607, on the James River at Jamestown. It languished for decades until a new wave of settlers arrived in the late 17th century and set up commercial agriculture based on tobacco. One example of conflict between Native Americans and English settlers was the 1622 Powhatan uprising in Virginia, in which Indians had killed hundreds of English settlers. The largest conflict between Native Americans and English settlers in the 17th century was King Philip's War in New England. [1]

New England was founded primarily by Puritans who established the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1629. The Middle Colonies, consisting of the present-day states of New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Delaware, were characterized by a large degree of diversity. The first attempted English settlement south of Virginia was the Province of Carolina, with Georgia Colony the last of the Thirteen Colonies established in 1733. Several colonies were used as penal settlements from the 1620s until the American Revolution.