s. history us history us history - Embassy of the United States

John Smith,the stalwartEnglish explorerand settler whoseleadership helpedsave Jamestown fromcollapse during its criticalearly years.B E C O M I N G ANATIONA P I C T U R E P R O F I L EThe United States of America was transformed in the two centuriesfrom the first English settlement at Jamestown in 1607 to thebeginning of the 19th century. From a series of isolated colonialsettlements hugging the Atlantic Coast, the United States evolvedinto a new nation, born in revolution, and guided by a Constitutionembodying the principles of democratic self-government.Detail from a painting by American artist Benjamin West(1738-1820), which depicts William Penn’s treaty with theNative Americans living where he founded the colony ofPennsylvania as a haven for Quakers and others seekingreligious freedom. Penn’s fair treatment of the DelawareIndians led to long-term, friendly relations, unlike the conflictsbetween European settlers and Indian tribes in other colonies.3839