Some historians and scholars argue that there are identifiable cycles in history that repeat throughout the generations and over the centuries. These patterns certainly show up in American history from 1608–1819. Let's look at some of them.

We can find a cycle in the relations between colonists and Native Americans. The pattern here shows an alternation between mutual cooperation and mutual conflict as settlers relied on their native neighbors at some points and maintained peace with them but then, at other times, desired more land and more expansion, which led to conflict.

We can detect another cyclical pattern in the alternation between conservative and liberal political domination throughout this period, especially after the formation of the United States. The more liberal movement of the creation of the Constitution, for instance, gave way to the more conservative Federalist position in the early days of the new country. These patterns have continued ever since.

Finally, cyclical patterns exist in the economic history of the era. Periods of economic growth and prosperity alternated with periods of hardship and financial difficulties. The lean years of the earliest settlers were followed by prosperity as they established themselves, but hardship reappeared when weather conditions, conflicts, and other factors led to poor crops. Further, the financial markets of the new United States followed cyclical patterns as well as they flourished and crashed (as in 1791, for instance) in turn.