Section A Exploring the World Text AA Brief Introduction to the USA Note The first known inhabitants of moder-day United States territory are believed to have arrived over a period of several thousand years beginning sometime prior to 15,000-50,000 years ago by crossing Beringial31 into Alaska.Solid evidence of these cultures settling in what would become the U.S.is dated to around 14,000 years ago. Columbus'men were the first who documented Old Worldersl4l to land in the territory of what is now the United States when they arrived in Puerto Rico during their second voyage in 1493.Juan Ponce de Leon,who arrived in Florida in 1513,is credited as being the first European to land in what is now the continental United States,although some evidence suggests that John Cabot might have reached what is presently New England in1498. In its beginnings,the United States of America consisted only of the Thirteen Colonies,which consisted of states occupying the same lands as when they were British colonies.American colonists fought off the British army in the American Revolutionary Warls1 of the 1770s and issued the Declaration of Independencel61 in 1776.Seven years later,the signing of the Treaty of Paris officially recognized independence from Britain. In the nineteenth century,westward expansion of United States territory began,in which the United States would occupy all the North American land east to west,from the Atlantic to the Pacific Oceans.By 1912, with the admission of Arizona to the Union,the U.S.reached that goal.The outlying states of Alaska and Hawaii were both admitted in 1959 大连理工大学出版社 大连理工大学出版社 Section A Exploring the World Text A A Brief Introduction to the USA The first known inhabitants of modern-day United States territory are believed to have arrived over a period of several thousand years beginning sometime prior to 15, 000 —50, 000 years ago by crossing Beringia[3] into Alaska. Solid evidence of these cultures settling in what would become the U.S. is dated to around 14, 000 years ago. Columbus’ men were the first who documented Old Worlders[4] to land in the territory of what is now the United States when they arrived in Puerto Rico during their second voyage in 1493. Juan Ponce de León, who arrived in Florida in 1513, is credited as being the first European to land in what is now the continental United States, although some evidence suggests that John Cabot might have reached what is presently New England in 1498. In its beginnings, the United States of America consisted only of the Thirteen Colonies, which consisted of states occupying the same lands as when they were British colonies. American colonists fought off the British army in the American Revolutionary War[5] of the 1770s and issued the Declaration of Independence[6] in 1776. Seven years later, the signing of the Treaty of Paris officially recognized independence from Britain. In the nineteenth century, westward expansion of United States territory began, in which the United States would occupy all the North American land east to west, from the Atlantic to the Pacific Oceans. By 1912, with the admission of Arizona to the Union, the U.S. reached that goal. The outlying states of Alaska and Hawaii were both admitted in 1959. Note