Today, America is one of the richest, strongest, and most hard-working countries in the world. It has a population of over three hundred million and a growth rate of 0.97% per year. America has made many great contributions to the world politically and scientifically by inventing the telephone, discovering electricity, inventing airplanes, putting man on the moon, and so much more. America has grown and multiplied over time and is still growing. Even though America today differs from other countries, it was built exclusively from scrap. It all started when a crew of one hundred and two abandoned their homeland in search of freedom. After a long and dangerous journey, the pilgrims finally managed to disembark. Before landing the heads of the families made a pact to guarantee peace between them. Today the pact is known as “The Mayflower Compact.” They took their first step into a vast unknown land hoping to build a better future. Not everything went as the pilgrims thought, more than half of the colonists died due to a contagious disease that struck the new colony. They were unfamiliar with farming; therefore they could not harvest healthy vegetation. Their food supplies were running low. Now, all they had left was hope, the hope to survive, to live a life of freedom, and to spread the gospel of Christ's kingdom. To survive they had to make a peace treaty with the local Native Americans. The Native Americans showed the Pilgrims how to plant vegetation and survive in the wilderness, but in exchange the Native Americans wanted their weapons. The pilgrims were not soldiers, but they had to fight to survive. A few years later, more homes were built, and many Europeans followed in the footsteps of the Pilgrims to New England. While the New World s......middle of paper......unity to build a free country. In the camps as the rebels trained for future battles, other people in enemy lines served as spies for the rebels. With knowledge, courage, and brute force, the rebels attacked and recaptured New York City and forced the British to surrender. From the beginning of the war to today, America's leadership, training, weapons, and intelligence have enabled it to achieve the impossible. The United States of America is the only country to gain independence from the British in a war. America is a country built on the idea that all men are created equal, all men are free to determine their own actions, where even the poor can speak for themselves, and a country where opportunity is at every corner. The Founding Fathers and all those who fought for independence believed in this. Today, three hundred million people carry this same belief in their hearts.