Yesterday               Old New York 

                                                        photograph courtesy http://www.citylegacy.com

   The New York City area was originally occupied by the Algonquin Native American tribe. They used the land for hunting, fishing, and living on. When the Europeans began to settle the "New World" it was mainly the Dutch who showed an interest in the area.   The Dutch christened their new settlement "New Amsterdam".
   The Dutch lived prosperously under the rule of Peter Stuyvesant until August 18, 1664 when the English sailed 4 ships into New Amsterdam and pointed their guns at the town.  Many people demanded that Stuyvesant surrender.  After a week of arguing with the rebellious citizens, he finally gave up and surrendered.
   The English were nice to the Dutch, saying that they would keep treating the settlers nicely if they promised to be loyal to England.   New Amsterdam was renamed New York after the English Duke of York.  After the English took over, growth started to speed up again.  New Yorkers lived peacefully until the Revolutionary War began in 1775.  New York City was held by the British for a while during the war.
   The war ended in 1776.  New York City became the nation's first capital under President George Washington in 1788.  It remained the capital for two years.  Although New York lost the title of capital in 1790, it did not really affect the city.  New York had become a very large city.
   In 1793 a war erupted between France and Britain, and this led the U.S. into the War of 1812. The only U.S. battleground was in Lake Champlain, and the war ended in 1815.
   For a long time the slavery issue had been very controversial.  As of about 1850, there were basically three opinions on slavery:  1) in favor of slavery; 2) against slavery;  3) didn't care.  Most New Yorkers were not in favor of slavery and so when the Civil War began in 1861, New York City fought to end slavery in the United State.  More New Yorkers fought in the war than from any other state.  The north won the war in 1865 and slavery ended.
   After the Civil War, the Industrial Revolution swept the nation.  This is how New York came to be what we know of it now, with all its factories and warehouses.  Because of the demand for workers, many people immigrated to America through New York City.  (Click here for the Ellis Island web site, the place where so many immigrants entered New York City.)
   From 1860 to 1900 New York's population grew by 2,623,533!  By 1900, many more people moved to cities and New York's population went through the roof.    World War I started
in 1914 and New York City started producing products all through the war until it ended in 1918.  In October of 1929 the U.S. entered the Great Depression making over a million people look for jobs.  The Depression lasted until 1941 When World War II began. (Click here to visit a website on the Great Depression and World War II.)
   World War II lifted the country out of the Depression.  Many people got jobs making tools and machinery for the war.  The United States, however, did not actually enter the war until 1941 when the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor in Hawaii.  World War II did not really influence New York City in particular, though many New Yorkers fought in the war.  After the war ended, New York City settled into a period of prosperity in the 1950's.

    Click here for the follow up of "Yesterday", with Today.