Discovering America
Italian explorer and navigator Christopher Columbus' stumble upon the Americas marked the beginning of trans-Atlantic conquest and colonisation.
1600s: The New World
Britain finds America
1607: A small group of English travellers landed in the Americas, in a settlement they called 'Jamestown'. Driven by the promise of a new life, these men and women are risking everything - facing disease, starvation and war with native peoples.
However, these English colonists arrived unprepared and unwilling to perform manual labour. Their desire to locate valuable raw materials cloudsed thier perception of survival in the new land. Life within the settlement bega to deteriorate rapidly, with little to no food, starvation and disease sweeps across Jamestown. 500 men soon become 50. Times are getting desperate - one English settler is burned at the stake for killing his wife with plans to eat her remains!
The arrival of John Rolfe and his ertrepeneurial dream to grow tobacco (an extremely valuable resource at the time), changed the state of the settlement dramatically. Alongside the labour of the first African Americans, Rolfe turned the perilous settlement in the South into a land of opportuniy.
Word of the New World's success and wealth quickly reached Britain, prompting jealously, taxation, resistance and eventually war.
However, these English colonists arrived unprepared and unwilling to perform manual labour. Their desire to locate valuable raw materials cloudsed thier perception of survival in the new land. Life within the settlement bega to deteriorate rapidly, with little to no food, starvation and disease sweeps across Jamestown. 500 men soon become 50. Times are getting desperate - one English settler is burned at the stake for killing his wife with plans to eat her remains!
The arrival of John Rolfe and his ertrepeneurial dream to grow tobacco (an extremely valuable resource at the time), changed the state of the settlement dramatically. Alongside the labour of the first African Americans, Rolfe turned the perilous settlement in the South into a land of opportuniy.
Word of the New World's success and wealth quickly reached Britain, prompting jealously, taxation, resistance and eventually war.
The Story Of The US. History.com
John Rolfe and Pocahontas
John Rolfe and his wife, Pocahontas.
|
Pocahontas, daughter of the Powhatan Indians' chief, married tobacco planter John Rolfe in Jamestown, Virginia in 1614. The marriage ensured peace between the settlers at Jamestown and the Powhatan Indians.
In 1616, the couple sailed to England with their son, Thomas. The Indian Princess proved popular in England and was presented at the Royal Court. In 1617, a day before their plans to return to Virginia, Pocahontas passed away. Perhaps Pocahontas is most famous for the accounts published by John Smith, an English adventurer who stated in 1624 that he and two colonists had been ambushed by Indians. After killing his two companions, the Indian attackers took Smith to their Powhatan chief, who held him in captivity for two months until he decided to have Smith clubbed to death in a ritual ceremony. According to Smith, a 13 year old Pocahontas threw herself between him and his attackers, causing her father to relent. Smith's record is the only written account of the incident, and some historians question its authenticity. |
1700S: The Fight for Independance
Seven generations have past and European settlers have managed to survive against all odds. With the help of John Rolfe, they built themselves up to be a successful and wealthy nation. However, this brought negative attention from the British, causing colonists to turn on their colonial masters.
The American Revolution: 1775-1781
April 18, 1775: At about 5am, 700 British troops marched into Lexington, America on a mission to confiscate colonist's weapons which had been stockpiled there. Instead, they found 77 American rebels awaiting their arrival.
Despite thier ambush, the rebels were outnumbered and ordered to disperse. Overwhelmed, the rebels began to drift off the field when the "shot heard around the world" was fired by an undetermined gun. The Battle of Lexington was over as quickly as it started. Eight American rebel fighters lay dead, ten were wounded. The British suffered only one injured soldier. The American Revolution had begun.
Despite thier ambush, the rebels were outnumbered and ordered to disperse. Overwhelmed, the rebels began to drift off the field when the "shot heard around the world" was fired by an undetermined gun. The Battle of Lexington was over as quickly as it started. Eight American rebel fighters lay dead, ten were wounded. The British suffered only one injured soldier. The American Revolution had begun.
By June 1776, the American Revolution was in full swing. On July 4, elected delegates from the thriteen American colonies (including Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, John Adams and commander in chief, George Washington), met at a 'Continental Congress' and voted to adopt the 'Declaration of Independence'. On July 9, the declaration was read to bustling crowds in New York. American colonists were about to take on the might of the world's leading superpower - Britain.
Meanwhile, offshore, 500 British ships readied with soldiers prepared for what was the largest British invasion until D-Day, to take on the rebelious Americans. 32,000 British troops prepared to storm American revials. New York City did not experience an attack like it until September 11, 2001.
As the war pressed on, American rebels needed to come up with new warfare tricks to combat the highly trained British soldiers. Held together with the strength of Washington's leadership, they turned to fighting tactics almost unheard of in Europe - guerilla warfare. The British, who were trained to fight in open battlefeilds, now faced sharpshooters hidden in the wilderness. Using speed, stelth and surprise, the rebels began by cutting down trees to form road blocks for the British army, who quickly became sitting ducks. Armed with long riffles, theys then started to take out the Native trackers who travelled with the British troops, leaving them with little to no knowledge of the terrain. Lastly, they targeted British officials to leave the troops without leadship. This weakended the British immensely, causing them to loose up to 1000 men in battles - twice as much as the rebels.
Meanwhile, offshore, 500 British ships readied with soldiers prepared for what was the largest British invasion until D-Day, to take on the rebelious Americans. 32,000 British troops prepared to storm American revials. New York City did not experience an attack like it until September 11, 2001.
As the war pressed on, American rebels needed to come up with new warfare tricks to combat the highly trained British soldiers. Held together with the strength of Washington's leadership, they turned to fighting tactics almost unheard of in Europe - guerilla warfare. The British, who were trained to fight in open battlefeilds, now faced sharpshooters hidden in the wilderness. Using speed, stelth and surprise, the rebels began by cutting down trees to form road blocks for the British army, who quickly became sitting ducks. Armed with long riffles, theys then started to take out the Native trackers who travelled with the British troops, leaving them with little to no knowledge of the terrain. Lastly, they targeted British officials to leave the troops without leadship. This weakended the British immensely, causing them to loose up to 1000 men in battles - twice as much as the rebels.
Fighting against one of the largest and most victorious colonial powers in the world, American rebels achieved the impossibe after a long, eight year battle. The Unitied States is the only country to win independance against the British in war. On April 30, 1789, Washington was inaugrated as the first persident of the United States of America under the new constitution. However, liberty came at a price, with more than 25,000 men loosing thier life in the battle for Independence.
The Story of the US, History.com
1800s: Expansion and Exploitation
September 3, 1783: Great Britain formally recognised the independence of the United States in the Treaty of Paris. As the American nation was born, a vast continent to the west of the mountains awaited exploration and exploitation. However, the land was not unoccupied - Native American Indians dwelled across the great land mass, along with Spanish colonists and French explorers.
Explorers Lois and Clark with Sacagawea.
|
Explorers Louis and Clarke, and Sacagawea
In 1804, Jefferson sent a team to explore lands acquired in the Louisiana Purchase (a land deal between the U.S and France in 1803, where the U.S purchased hectres of land west of the Mississipi River). Meriwether Lewis and William Clarke led the Lewis and Clarke Expedition (called the Corps of Discovery), which spanned 13,000 km and took 3 years to complete. They faced every obstacle and hardship imaginable in their persuit to map this vast new region. It was during their battle for survival that they came across 16 year old Native American, Sacagawea and her husband. She was bi-lingual, working as a translator for the expedition, and assisting in the survival and knowledge of the land. Along the way, Lewis kept a detailed journal (which was saved by Sacagawea after their canoe capsized) and collected samples of new plants and animals that he encountered. With her help, they reached the Pacific Ocean, cleared the path for westward expansion and brought back a great deal of knowledge.
|
Americans migrating across the plains to the West, 1800s.
Migrating to the West
The conquest of the West by pioneers is marked by courage and immense hardship. Despite numerous challanges, their search for land and prosperity saw them set out westward on loaded wagons, forging the character of America.
While some struggled to create new lives on the frontier, others were rewarded with riches. By the mid-19th century, hunreds of thousands of people travelled from all over the world to mine the vast expanses of gold in California. America now stretched from "sea to shining sea". However, this expansion of the west would have severe reprecussions on the Native Americans who lived on the plains.
While some struggled to create new lives on the frontier, others were rewarded with riches. By the mid-19th century, hunreds of thousands of people travelled from all over the world to mine the vast expanses of gold in California. America now stretched from "sea to shining sea". However, this expansion of the west would have severe reprecussions on the Native Americans who lived on the plains.
Division: North vs South
America became a nation at the exact same time that a revolution in commerce and industry was sweping across the western world. This vast new country experienced rapid changes–in trade, transport and manufacturing–quickly turning America into one of the wealthiest nations on earth. The development of the Erie Canal (a man-made trade route) resulted in a trade boom - New York City quadrupled in size, with trade producing so much wealth that by 1840, the word 'millionaire' was invented.
The North was flourishing in industry, whilst the South in cotton plantations. Both worked hand in hand to make profit - the South produced cotton, the North turned it into fabric. By 1830, America was producing half the world's cotton - by 1850, nearly three quarters. Referred to as "White Gold", the lavish life style was built on the backbreaking work of slaves. Now two different Americas, united in prosperity, but divided by culture, faced each other across a growing issue - slavery.
The North was flourishing in industry, whilst the South in cotton plantations. Both worked hand in hand to make profit - the South produced cotton, the North turned it into fabric. By 1830, America was producing half the world's cotton - by 1850, nearly three quarters. Referred to as "White Gold", the lavish life style was built on the backbreaking work of slaves. Now two different Americas, united in prosperity, but divided by culture, faced each other across a growing issue - slavery.
Slavery had been abolished in Britian for 20 years already, and outlawed across Europe - yet it was vital to the economy in the South.
Slavery had actually been on the decline before the cotton boom, which required labour and thus made the slave industry very valuable once again to plantaion owners. Half a million African Americans were sold in auction. By mid-19th century, the slave trade was worth $2 billion in the South's economy, with 90% of African Americans held in slavery. A country based on every person having rights to freedom and equality had created a system of abject persecution.
The most expensive slaves had pale skin. Men were worth more than $1000, women $800 and children $500. More than half the sales at auction would tear a family apart. Escape to the North was extremely risky - facing lashes, branding, the cutting off of ears or the slashing of achelies tendons. One ex-slave, Harriet Tubmen, would go on to become one of America's first civil rights activists. She risked her life as an escaped slave to take others to thier freedom across what was known as the 'Underground Rail'. Alongside Fredrick Douglas, another escaped slave, they would fight against everything the South stood for.
In 1850, a new fugitive slave law brought the brutality of Southern slave law to the North - no slave was safe anywhere. It stated that if you were an escaped slave and moved to the North, your master could recall you. Freed African Americans were not even safe - being accused of escaping was enough for a recall. They even faced being kidnapped and sold in auction, much like Solomon Northup, who was kidnapped and sold into slavery for twelve years. Magistrates recieved $10 to recall the captured men as slaves, and only $5 to secure their freedom. Thus, corruption led to the recalling of many freed African Americans. Slavery had become more than a political or economic issue, but a moral one.
Slavery had actually been on the decline before the cotton boom, which required labour and thus made the slave industry very valuable once again to plantaion owners. Half a million African Americans were sold in auction. By mid-19th century, the slave trade was worth $2 billion in the South's economy, with 90% of African Americans held in slavery. A country based on every person having rights to freedom and equality had created a system of abject persecution.
The most expensive slaves had pale skin. Men were worth more than $1000, women $800 and children $500. More than half the sales at auction would tear a family apart. Escape to the North was extremely risky - facing lashes, branding, the cutting off of ears or the slashing of achelies tendons. One ex-slave, Harriet Tubmen, would go on to become one of America's first civil rights activists. She risked her life as an escaped slave to take others to thier freedom across what was known as the 'Underground Rail'. Alongside Fredrick Douglas, another escaped slave, they would fight against everything the South stood for.
In 1850, a new fugitive slave law brought the brutality of Southern slave law to the North - no slave was safe anywhere. It stated that if you were an escaped slave and moved to the North, your master could recall you. Freed African Americans were not even safe - being accused of escaping was enough for a recall. They even faced being kidnapped and sold in auction, much like Solomon Northup, who was kidnapped and sold into slavery for twelve years. Magistrates recieved $10 to recall the captured men as slaves, and only $5 to secure their freedom. Thus, corruption led to the recalling of many freed African Americans. Slavery had become more than a political or economic issue, but a moral one.
Civil War
The Transcontinental Railroad
1865: The Civil War had ended, and the construction of the transcontinental railroad under Lincoln began. Never before had this kind of connection existed. To allow for this, workers had to cut across the Sehera Nevada mountain range - the engerineering challenge of the century. The person in charge, Theodore Judah, was nicknamed "Crazy Judah". Costing $2 billion, the government had no money to fund the 15 year project, and thus payed the workers in land.
Chinese workers stand beside the incomplete transcontinental railroad, 1880s.
The workers biggest obstical was the Donna Pass - where less than 100 years earlier a group of migrators who became trapped in the pass resorted to cannabilism to survive. Chinese immigrants were paid the least to do the hardest work, as they were seen as sub-humans who were expected to work until they died. They faced the hardest granite on earth, slowing progres down to 15cm a day. In need of effective explosives, workers try to obtain nitroglycerin, a highly dangerous explosive which is illegal to transport. Made on sight by a drunken alchemist, the slightest physical movement could set it off, with a blast of up to 5000 degrees - as hot as the surface of the sun! After the alchemist surcame to drinking, chinese immigrants took over the production of nitroglycerin, with an estimated 1500 chinese workers losing their lives in explosions or their consequential rock slides.
Once they got past the treturous mountains, production increased to 10km a day, as opposed to an average of 25cm a day before. On May 10, a one worded message said it all: "done". A six month trip is cut down into a six day trip. The "Iron Horse" spread a thin line of civilisation across the plains. The Government accelerated this process with the 'Homestead Act', which saw the greatest land giveaway in history - a $10 fee to claim free land.
Once they got past the treturous mountains, production increased to 10km a day, as opposed to an average of 25cm a day before. On May 10, a one worded message said it all: "done". A six month trip is cut down into a six day trip. The "Iron Horse" spread a thin line of civilisation across the plains. The Government accelerated this process with the 'Homestead Act', which saw the greatest land giveaway in history - a $10 fee to claim free land.
Buffalo Hunting
With the millions of wild buffalo running wild across the plains, Americans took on a new target. They killed up to 8,000 buffalo a day just for thier hides. Buffalo hunters earnt more than the president on a good day. Native Plains Indians could not comprehend what the white people were doing, but knew that the great losses of buffalo would deeply effect their way of life. The Native Americans both worshipped and depended on the animal for survival. They wasted none of thier kill, using skins for clothing and shelter and bones for cutlery and weaponry since the last Ice Age. Native hunts would extend across hundreds of kilometres, and often took as much as fifteen arrows to take down a buffalo, as opposed to the white man's single bullet shot within a range of less than 200m. In just one decade, 13 million buffalo were killed. The Native Plains Indians primary source had vanished. Facing starvation, they were forced onto government reserves. By 1889, there were only 85 wild buffalo that existed in the whole of the United States.
1878, Charles Rath sits on 40,000 buffalo hides.
|
1870's- pile of American buffalo skulls awaiting grouning for fetiliser.
|
1870's - 1880's sees the peak of the buffalo hide trade. Two hunters skin thier kill.
|
Taming the Wild West
Men in the defeated South were living in rural poverty, and began flocking to the West in search of food, jobs and adventure. With 6 million wild cattle roaming around in Texas, new frontier men were born - the cowboys. Desperate for livestock, the cowboys rounded up herds of wild cattle from the West to bring over to the East - a 1600km cattle drive. 1 in 3 cowboys were Hispanic or African American ex-slaves. The men guarded the cattle with thier lives and guns, with herds worth over $200,000. 5 million cattle were herded - one of the largest livestock migrations in U.S history.
Vertical Cities
The Statue of LibertyIn 1885, America was given a gift from the French to celebrate a centenary of Independance - the Statue of Liberty. Designed by Gustiv Eiffel (creator of the Eiffel Tower), it was sent over in 350 pieces. Donations funded the building costs of the statue, which is 46m tall. It took 6 months to contruct and amazingly there were no fatalities.
|
Roughnecks
Between 1880 and 1930, 20 million new immigrants arrived in America. As expansion increased, construction workers pointed their attention toward a new directon - up. By 1902, 65 sky scrappers were being constructed in Manhatten. "Rough neck" was the name given to these daring men, most of whom where European immigrants and Mohawk Indians, that risked death at the slightest mistake. They "Walked the Steel" without harnesses, safety rope or hard hats between eight hour shifts, with no toilet breaks and meal breaks being taken from up to 30 stories high in the sky. Two out of five workers died or became disabled.
|
Construction workers taking a break on the Empire State Building.
|
Big Cities, Big People
Detective William J. Burns
Larger cities created larger problems. Crime increased and crude detective William J. Burns developed the "Third Degree" method to take down the perpetrators; first degree - persuasion, second degree - intimidation, third degree - pain. In four years, Burns made 3030 criminal arrests. But without identification cards, tracking criminals proved highly difficult. Burns dealt with this issue by photographing known law breakers. The "Rogues Gallery" is one of the first attempts to create a national crime register, with more than 7,000 known criminals making up the profile.
|
|
Inventor Thomas Edison
1879: Thomas Edison worked seven days a week in one of the worlds first research labratories. He was trying to burn light in a safer and longer lasting way. He trialed over 6,000 matierals until he found the perfect one: carbonised cardboard. The light burnt for 300 hours - Edison had invented electricty. On New Years Eve, he showed off his invention to the public. Within two years, there are 5,000 power stations, lighting up cities like New York, Boston, Chicargo, Detroit and New Orleans. By 1902, there were 80 million.
|
1900s: The New Age
Stricking Oil
The discovery of oil at the dawn of the 20th century feuled the modern world. Tonnes of "Black Gold"struck in Texas sent oil prices plummeting - oil became cheaper than water. Harvesting the raw material is extremely dangerous with 6000 men dying each year in oil explosions. Nonetheless, the industry expands rapidly.
Henry Ford stands next to his famous Model T vehicle.
|
Henry Ford took advantage of America's renewed interest in oil, taking it upon himself to revolutionise the manufacturing of cars "for the common man". Previously, cars had been expensice and unreliable investments that only the wealthy could afford. Ford changed this through the use of production lines in factories. It created many job opportunities as workers required no skills apart from the job in which they were hired to do. Each worker specialised in one particular area of the entire car's production. Identical pieces were passed down the assembly line, simplifying and standardising work. 3000 cars were sold the year Ford used this means of production.
|
Racial Tension
With America's economy flourishing, the "Great Migration" begins, with one in seven African Americans moving to the North, or "Promised Land". Majority of them head for the Ford factory, where they recieved equal pay as the whites. But euqal pay did not mean equal treatment. Many African Americans are mistreated by white workers, who fear that they will lose thier jobs to the migrants.
Chicargo Race Riot: The Red Summer1919, Chicargo: Although no official segregation policy is in place, it is a system that is operating within the cities all the same. The North was better than the South, but proved to have downfalls of it's own. On July 27, Eugine Williams skipped church to go for a swim with a few friends. Whilst in the water, on shore black Americans walked over to the "White Beach", which sparked a conflict. As Eugine and his friend's raft drew closer to the brawl, an aggrevated white man began to throw rocks at the boys. Mistaking it for play, the boys ducked at the airbourne rocks flying towards them - until Eugine was hit quite badly. By the time his friends managed to bring him ashore, it was too late. The officer on duty, after hearing what had taken place on the beach, refused to arrest the white man and instead, arrested a black man. This is what initiated the Chicargo Race Riot, which lasted eight days. 500 are wounded, 38 die - 23 of which are black. The racial tention earns itself the name "Red Summer", but it is only the beginning.
|
Prohibition
1920: Alcohol is became an increasing problem in America, being the cause of at least 50% of American crimes. The solution - prohibition. In 1919, it becomes illegal to manufacture and sell alcohol. However, this leads other forms of crime - organised crime - with gangstas bootlegging alcohol, referred to as "Moonshine", in what becomes a $10 billion industry. Even the president has an illegal wine cellar.
Above: Al Capone
Below: Crime scene of the St. Valentie's Day Massacre |
St. Valentine's Day MassacreOne of the most infamous gangstas of all time, Al Capone, earns $100 a minute (equivilent to apprroximately $1000 a minute today). In 1929, seven gangstas were hauling carts of moonshine when two officers approached them. With half of America's officers being corrupt, the gangstas are used to the routine line up, often evading arrest by paying off the officers. However, this was no ordinary check up. As the men lined themselves up against the back wall, three men, two of which were armed, entered the complex and brutally slayed the men. Detectives were baffled upon discovering the crime scene, their quetion: who was behind this? the police or Al Capone?
Outraged Americans see the image of the crimescene on the frontcover of newspapers, angry at where prohibition has led thier country. Instead of lessening crime, it increased it ten fold. Major Clavin Goddard's new field of science - forensics - revolutionises the world of crime. He was able to take the bullet casings from the crime scene and analyse them under a microscope to determine clues. His outcome revealed that the bullets were not from police weaponry. When they confronted Capone, he presented them with an alibi. To take him down they needed to find a new charge. An accountant comes across an old finance book with Capone's handwriting and charges him with tax evation from 1925-29. Capone is found guilty and received 11 years in jail. By 1933, prohibition is abolished. The only amendment made by the constitution to be repealled in American history, |
The Great Depression
...
Confidence in American banks deteriorated rapidly. Within the last 60 days of 1930, 600 banks closed down. By 1933, there were 23 states without a single bank open. Unemployment sky rocketed from 4 million in 1930 to 12 million by 1932.
Confidence in American banks deteriorated rapidly. Within the last 60 days of 1930, 600 banks closed down. By 1933, there were 23 states without a single bank open. Unemployment sky rocketed from 4 million in 1930 to 12 million by 1932.
Constrution of the Hoover Dam
With unemployment on the rise, the government approved the contruction of the Hoover Dam under the private supervision of Frank Crowe. This opened up job opportunities, with millions of Americans flocking to the construction site desperate for work. Crowe took on 5000 men who were willing to work as hard and as fast as they had ever done previously. The plan is to finish the dam in 6 years, however, Crowe believes he can accomplish it's completion within 4. Construction took place 24 hours a day. The tunnels men worked in rose up to 60 degrees celcius at times, at the constant running of motors saw an outbreak in carbon monoxide poisoning. Furthermore, the men's eagerness to work saw a great deal of mistakes being made. For example, workers walking into explosion zones.
Nonetheless, Frank "Hurry Up" Crowe lived up to his name, finishing the project two years earlier than schedule in 1935.
Nonetheless, Frank "Hurry Up" Crowe lived up to his name, finishing the project two years earlier than schedule in 1935.
Fight between Ideology
ouJune 19, 1936: The fight for the Heavy Weight Champion of the World takes place between American contendor, Joe Louis, and German contendor, Max Schmeling. Louis was the grandson of slaves, whose family were forced out of Alabama by the Ku Klux Klan and were made poorer by the Great Depression. He kept his family alive through the money he earnt in boxing. He managed to work himself up to the top, with 24 straight wins behind him. However, against all odds, Schmeling takes the title. Germany saw this as a publicity blessing, with Hitler labelling Schmeling an "Aryan Superman". Hitler saw the American people as a mongrel race, whose biggest mistake was freeing their slaves.
Publically humiliated and disgraced, Louis continues training and eventually a rematch is announced for June 2, 1938. It is now not only a fight between athletes, but a fight between countries, societies and ideologies. Totalitarianism against democracy. It is also one of the earliest, if not the first time, that America was being represented symbollically by a Black man. They hype was huge. 70,000 people gathered to watch the fight live in the New York Yankee Stadium. 70 million people tuned in to listen to the fight on the radio - the most popular household item at the time. 100 million listened in - it was the biggest audience at that date to anything, anywhere.
In 124 seconds the fight was over - Schmeling is knocked out by Louis. It is the second shortest heavy weight fight in history and the most politically charged fight of all time. Schmeling knew what his defeat would mean to the Nazi's, stating "After this defeat, I no longer existed to Hitler. My name simply disappeared from the newspapers".
Publically humiliated and disgraced, Louis continues training and eventually a rematch is announced for June 2, 1938. It is now not only a fight between athletes, but a fight between countries, societies and ideologies. Totalitarianism against democracy. It is also one of the earliest, if not the first time, that America was being represented symbollically by a Black man. They hype was huge. 70,000 people gathered to watch the fight live in the New York Yankee Stadium. 70 million people tuned in to listen to the fight on the radio - the most popular household item at the time. 100 million listened in - it was the biggest audience at that date to anything, anywhere.
In 124 seconds the fight was over - Schmeling is knocked out by Louis. It is the second shortest heavy weight fight in history and the most politically charged fight of all time. Schmeling knew what his defeat would mean to the Nazi's, stating "After this defeat, I no longer existed to Hitler. My name simply disappeared from the newspapers".
Louis knocks out Schmeling in the first round to win the Heavy Weight Championship title, 1938.
Bibliography
America: The Story of the US. History Channel.
*Paul Revere
*Paul Revere