The expedition of <u>Hernando de Soto</u> to the current states of the Southeast, which pursued the same objectives as <u>Juan Ponce de León</u>, <u>Lucas Vázquez de Ayllón</u> and <u>Pánfilo de Narváez</u>, was an effort of conquest that with more than 600 men wandered throughout the Southeast of the United States in search of gold, silver and a passage to China <u><em>from May 1539</em></u>, when they disembarked in the area of the <em><u>present Tampa Bay</u></em>. <u>De Soto</u> died <em><u>in 1542</u></em> on the banks of the <em><u>Mississippi River</u></em>. <u>The Spanish soldiers brought death and diseases for the natives.</u> When the expedition encountered hostile groups, their men often provoked <em><u>confrontations</u></em>. Equally devastating were the diseases that the members of the expedition transmitted. Because they lacked immunity, indigenous peoples suffered epidemics after contracting <em><u>infectious diseases, such as smallpox, chicken pox and measles</u></em>. Some areas visited by the expedition were depopulated by diseases caused by contact with <u>Spanish soldiers</u>.
The genius of the U.S. Constitution is no accident. America’s Founding Fathers had learned the hard way that any government—given too much power—would eventually oppress the people. Their experiences in England left them in fear of the concentrated political powers of a monarchy. They believed that harnessing the government was the key to lasting liberty. Indeed, the Constitution’s famed system of balanced separation of powers enforced through checks and balances was intended to preventing tyranny.