Native Americans

The white settlers described an Indian town, where the local people brought them corn bread and tobacco smoked in clay pipes. Of all that the Indians gave to the white settlers food was probably the most important thing at that time. Indian foods and methods of planting, hunting, and fishing helped the settlers to survive in their new home. Two of the most important crops in the world today — Indian corn and white potatoes - were first planted by American Indians, who also introduced the settlers to more than 80 other foods, including the sweet potato, pumpkin, squash, banana, pineapple, and avocado. The Native Americans showed the settlers how to cook these unknown plants to make grits, hominy, popcorn, succotash, and tapioca. Cacao (for chocolate), chicle (for chewing gum), and tobacco were also among the new crops. Many of the drugs which Indians received from plants (such as cocaine, which was used to kill pain) are used today for medical purposes. They helped by introducing them to Indian utensils, clothing, methods of transportation. They include canoes, dog sleds, hammocks, pipes, rubber balls, snowshoes, moccasins, parkas.

The influence of Indian cultures is quite evident in American English. Thousands of mountains, lakes, rivers, cities, states, have Indian names - Ohio, Chicago, Saratoga, Massachusetts, Mexico, Nicaragua, Montana, as well as common nouns -tobacco, skunk, moose, canoe, and hundreds of others. The Red Indians did much to help white settlers in the new land, but when the whites began to take their lands the Indians began to fight for their rights and terrible wars started. The Indians were defeated because they did not have the weapons which the white settlers had. The colonization of North America became a history of bloodshed and cruelty towards the Indians. Since 1786 they were pushed to live in reservations. The Indians began to protest treatment, began to improve. Now there are 1,5 Native Americans. There is a Bureau of Indian affairs.

4. The beginning of the colonization of N. America.

The first Europeans to arrive in North America were Vikings traveling west from Greenland. In 1001 Leif Ericson established a Norse settlement at L'Anse-aux-Meadows in northern Newfoundland in present day Canada. However, they failed to make it a permanent settlement and soon it was lost and forgotten.

Christopher Columbus hoped to reach Asia sailing west in 1492. Instead he landed on one of the Bahama Islands in the Caribbean Sea. Columbus never stepped on the mainland United States, but his explorations aroused tremendous interest among the Europeans. The American continent was named after Amerigo Vespucci, a noble man from Florence who helped to organize Columbus's second voyage in 1493. After Columbus, there were many expeditions organized by the Spanish, the English, the French and the Dutch.

In 1497 a navigator named John Cabot arrived in Newfoundland on a mission for the English king which later gave Britain claims to North America. In 1534 the Frenchman Jacques Cartier explored the St. Lawrence River and claimed the surrounding territory for France.

The first permanent white settlement in North America was founded at St. Augustine in Florida by the Spaniards in 1565. In 1585 Sir Walter Raleigh established the first British colony on Roanoke Island off the coast of North Carolina, but it didn't survive. In 1607 the English would try again, and this time the colony succeeded at Jamestown in Virginia, named after the English king James I. Thus a new era was opened in the colonization of North America.

By 1619 Virginia had no more than two thousand people. That year was notable for three events. One was the arrival of a ship from England with 90 "young maidens" who were to be given as wives to those settlers who would pay 120 pounds of tobacco for their transportation. Equally important was the initiation of a representative government in America. On July 30, 1619, in the Jamestown church met the first legislative assembly on the continent: a governor, six councilors, and two representatives each from ten plantations.

The third significant event of the year was the arrival in August of a Dutch ship with Negro slaves, of whom it sold twenty to the settlers. This marked the beginning of the slave trade. An important event in the colonization of North America took place in 1620 when a group of colonists known as the Pilgrim Fathers came to North America on the famous ship the Mayflower and settled at Plymouth, Massachusetts. They were separatists in England, or members of the Puritan movement wishing to purify the Church of England by making religious services simpler and discipline stricter. The Pilgrim leaders knew that in order to organize their lives in the new land they had to establish rules of behavior. So 41 men aboard the Mayflower signed a special document known as the Mayflower Compact to abide by "just and equal laws" drafted by leaders of their own choosing, which was the first agreement for self-government in America. They also chose their first governor. The Puritans hoped to build an ideal society and were very intolerant to those who disagreed. One Puritan who disagreed was Roger Williams. Forced to leave Massachusetts Bay in 1635 he set up the neighboring Rhode Island colony where complete separation of church and state as well as freedom of religion was practiced. In 1634 Maryland was settled as a refuge for Catholics and in 1681 William Penn, a wealthy Quaker received a large tract of land which became known as Pennsylvania. Here religious tolerance was practiced attracting German, Swedish and Dutch settlers. It was here he founded Philadelphia the "City of Brotherly Love". In 1626 Dutch settlers bought Manhattan Island from local Indian chiefs and built the town of New Amsterdam which in 1664 was seized by the English and renamed New York after the brother of the English king — the Duke of York. Georgia was settled in 1732, the last of the 13 colonies to be established along the Atlantic shore. The French controlled Canada and Louisiana, which included the entire Mississippi basin. The Spaniards controlled Florida.

5. Describe the role of immigration in the making of the American nation - a "melting pot** of nations. Characterize the main ethnic groups. Give a brief survey of the present population of the USA: density, distribution and other characteristics.

A vital role in the formation of the population of the US was played by the immigration. 1790 - 4 mln p, 1854 - 24 mln.

Reasons:

-discovery of gold

_ political & religious freedom

-poverty & hunger

Immigrants often live by solid communities: Germans - Pennsylvania, Swedes - Minnesota, French - Louisiana, the Slavs - north-east. Lake district. they use their native languages & keep traditions.

Negro - 30mln (12%)Spaniards - 17 mln Indians - 1,5 mln 80% - english-speaking americans

Population - 315 mln (3rd in the world) Average density - 26,2 Noortheast-374 South - 30

Pacific coast -64 MCs Dakota, Nebraska - 47 Wyoming - 2 Alaska - 0,3 The urban population is growing - now 74% The biggest cities: New York (17,9 mln), Los Angeles (13 mln), Chicago <8,lmln), San Francisco, Philadelphia, Detroit. Sex: male 48,6%, female 51,4%

Assimilation is the process whereby individuals or groups of differing ethnic heritage are absorbed into the dominant culture of a society. Usually they are immigrants, who through contact and participation in the larger culture, gradually give up most of their former culture traits and take on the new traits to such a degree that they become socially indistinguishable from other members of the society. Assim-ion does not denote racial or other biological fusion, though such fusion may be related. Complete assimilation rarely occurs, as evidenced, for ex., by the great diversity of local and regional cultures in Europe, despite centuries of conquest and recurrent attempts to force assimilation. There have, nonetheless, been some notable instances of assimilation, particularly in the USA, the so-called “melting pot” of ethnic groups.

6. Discuss the reasons, development and consequences of the War of Independence (1775-1783).

The Brit.Governm., fearing that settlers migrating into the new lands would provoke wars with the Indians, issued a royal proclamation denying the colonists the right to settle west of the Appalachian Mountains. Heavy taxes were introduced on sugar, cofe, textiles and other imported goods. Britain was worried by Amer.’s growing economy and possible competition. So she did everything to harass this development. The Quartering Act forced the colonies to house and feed British soldiers. The last of the measures of the new financial system was the Stamp Act of 1765 which provoked the greatest organized resistance in the colonies. It provided that special stamps were to be attached to all newspapers or other legal documents. It aroused the hostility o most of the Amer. population. Representatives from 9 colonies met and convened the “Stamp Act Congress”. Opposition was so widespread that the Brit. Governm. was forced to repeal the Stamp Act.At the same time Brit. soldiers were sent to Boston where tension was high. The colonists demanded that taxes only be introduced with the consent of colonial assemblies. To defuse the situation the Br.Govern. abolished many of the new taxes except that on tea. This led to new confrontation which served to drive the colonies into war against the Mother Country.

16.12.1773-a band of men disguised as Mohawk Indians boarded 3 brit. ships lying at anchor in Boston harbor and dumped 342 crates of tea into the waters of the port. It was a form of protest.=>brit. parliam. closed the port to all the shipping.

--.09.1774-th 1^st Continental Congress was convened(Philadelphia).=>quiet soon the growing confrontation broke into open fire.

19.04.1775-the commander of the English garrison in Boston sent a unit of soldiers to Concord to seize arms by the colonists. The brit.troops reached Lexington on their way and encountered a band of 70 minutemen(they were supposed to be ready to fight in a minite).Someone fired a shot, and a major exchange of fire took place leaving 8 dead and 10 wounded-“the shot heard round the world”=>the Americ.War of Independ.(1775-83)

The English took Lexington and Concord. But when they reached Boston they suffered more than 250 killed and wounded. The Americans lost 93 men.

May.1775-a 2^nd Continent. Congr.met (Philad.) and assumed the powers of a national government. It formed continental Army and Navy under the Command of Colonel G.Washington. The Congress printed its own paper money and sought to establish diplomatic relations with foreign countries.

02.07.1776-the Congress finally decided that united colonies of right ought to be free and independent.

04/07/1776-the Congress adopted a Declaration of Independence, which was drafted by T.Jefferson (democrat, Virginia). The Declaration not only announced the birth of a new nation, but also set forth the principles of human freedom. But these rights did not apply to mlns of Negro slaves and the institution of slavery continued to exist till 1860-s.

It was one thing to proclaim independence, but another to win independence in the course of resolute struggle. At 1^st, the war didn’t go well for the poorly equipped and badly trained Americ. army. At times it seemed that the Brit. Army of Redcoats would win, but little by little the situation changed when the Americ. army was joined by 1000-s of volunteers.

October.1777-the Brit.Army under General J.Burgoyne suffered heavy defeat at Saratoga in northern N.Y. After this victory France seized the opportunity to humble Britain.

February.1778-a Franco-American alliance was signed. The Americans began to receive financial and military help from France, and the French navy supported the Americans at sea.

1781-the brit.army was surrounded by a French fleet from the sea and a combined French-American army under G.Washington. Soon the Brit.governm. asked for peace.

September.1783-britain finally recognized the independence of the USA by signing the Treaty of Paris.

The 13 colonies were free. The events of the war are termed as the American Revolution because with the formation of the USA a republic was established as a result of the struggle of the American colonists who overthrow a monarchy based on colonial exploitation and denial of civil and political rights. The Americ. people cherish the democratic gains of the American Revolution.+the Am.Revol.had a great impact on the development of events in Europe(helping to trigger the French Revolution of 1789.).

7. Expand on the basic values of the American nation. Explain their importance. Expand on the notion "the frontier heritage”, the heroes. What is political correctness?

7 values: material wealth; lack of formality; hard work; individual freedom; self reliance; equal opportunity to succeed; equal competitions; The heritage of the frontier is still very much alive in the USA today. The frontier spirit is one of the national values of America. The frontier experience began when the first colonists settled on the east coast of North America in 1600s. It ended about 1890 when the last western lands were settled. The American frontier consisted of the unsettled regions of the US, usually found in the western part of the country. Here, both land and life were more rough or rugged and primitive than in the more settled eastern parts. By settling one frontier area after another, Americans moved across the whole continent, about 4,500 km wide. Americans considered the frontier, its life and its people as the best examples of their most important values. The frontier gave many examples of hard work, as forests were cut and towns grew up. There was much adventure on the western frontier. The rush for gold in California, for silver in Montana, and for good land in all the western territories provided endless stories of adventure. The frontiersman depended on himself. He had to build his own house, hunt, look after the farm, make his own clothes and the things which he needed for his home. The hero is a man who is physically strong, tough and rugged because of frontier life, kind and polite to women and children, very independent. There are 2 types of heroes: of the-early period before the civil war - the main struggle was against the wilderness or the forces of nature. Daniel Boone. Explored the wilderness in Kentucky in the 1760s and 1770s. in 1778 was captured by Indians, -who were so impressed with his physical strength and skills that made him a member of their tribe. Later he managed to escape. He became a hero because he was a brave man who conquered the wilderness. The second period - 1860s until the end of the 19th century. The struggle of man against man. The hero of this period is a strong, tough man who can easily defeat two or three men at one time, a defender of good against evil. Jesse James and Wyatt Earp. Polite correctness: it’s concerned with avoiding attitudes, actions, forms of expression, which suggest prejustice and are likely to offend people. Human being instead of man Miss - miss and missis Afro-American - black Native American – Indian. With limited physical abilities – invalid With limited mental abilities - fool in 1812). The solution was Confederation. The initiators of it - Fathers of Confederation, met in 1864 in Charlestown to work out details. The eventual result was the British North America Act of 1867 which brought about confederation of the provinces of Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia &New Brunswick. The idea of a federal system with one central government for each of the provinces was accepted by 4 founding provinces. Constitution act in 1867: colonies were welcome to join Canada in the future. Values – are ideas about what is right and wrong, desirable and undesirable, normal and abnormal, proper or improper in this or that society. Assumptions – are the postulates, the unquestioned given about people, life and the way things are. People who grow up in a particular culture share certain values and assumptions. A culture can be viewed as a collection of values and assumptions that go together to shape the way a group of people perceive the world around them. Many historians believe that all American values emerged from frontier heritage. The words that are dear to all American hearts are: mobility, freedom, individualism, opportunity, energy, pragmatism, progress, renewal, competition. The basic American values and assumptions comprise: 1. Individual freedom: The term “ freedom ” in the American understanding means the desire and ability of all individuals to control their own destiny without influence or interference from government, ruling noble class, church, etc. There is a price, however, to be paid for this individual freedom – self reliance. Americans believe that individuals must learn to rely on themselves, otherwise they risk losing freedom. In practice this means achieving both financial and emotional independence from parents as early as possible (18-21). Since childhood the children are given freedom to make their own decisions and express their opinion, but they are also taught to take responsibility for their opinions and decisions. 2. Equality of opportunity and competition: Each individual should have equal chance for success, equal rights. Equal opportunities help to ensure that the race for success is fair and that a person from a privileged background does not always win the race. There is a price to be paid for this equality – competition. Americans match their energy and intelligence against that of their neighbours in a competition for success. Competitiveness is encouraged in the American society. They don’t like losers.

3. Material wealth and hard work: Americans have one of the highest standards of living in the world. People’s status in the American society is frequently measured by how much they own. Material possessions are thought as evidence of hard work of a person and also as evidence of his abilities. Thus Americans strive to improve their financial situation showing by this that they CAN do it, that they are clever and strong enough to make their life better. To be able to afford buying different things one has to work hard. It is normal for Americans to show their friends that one can afford a bigger house or a more expensive car, etc. This symbolizes the financial success of the person s a result of his hard work. Hard workers are idealized and respected. 4. Individualism: The ideal person, as seen by the Americans, should be independent, self-reliant, individualistic, should stand out from the crowd by doing something first or best, has courage to try something new. 5. Privacy: Americans assume all the people need some time to themselves or some time alone. Nobody has right to deny a person this time. That’s why, if the parents can afford it, each child will have his or her own bedroom, his or her toys, books, clothes, etc. 6. Time is money:

The desire of the Americans to get the most out of every minute often affects their behavior, making them impatient when they have to wait. As a result of this lots of Americans invent different things to save their time (fast-food restaurants, for instance) or they also buy all kinds of equipment to save time and handle work more efficiently (dish-washers, computers, etc.) They like timetables, schedules, plans, etc. It enables Americans to be productive and efficient, and productivity is highly valued in the US. 7. Informality:Americans are pretty informal in their behaviour and in their relations with other people. This informality finds expression in everything – their speech (straight-forward questions and remarks, they’d say “hi” to just about anyone), clothes (casual), gestures (energetic), postures (legs on the table). There are no strict status divisions in the USA and a student, for instance, can speak freely to a dean very informally. High officials usually encourage such informality because it makes them closer to people and helps to win their support and respect. 8. Optimism and looking in the future: History taught Americans to be optimistic and to be always ready to face and solve problems. They don’t look back in the past as a rule, but look ahead, in the future, with optimism and assurance that it will bring positive changes with it if they work on it. 9. Charity and voluntarism: The Americans are very active in their social life. They organize all kinds of community groups to help poor or disabled people, parentless children, etc. Many of them are volunteers in different organizations, i.e. they work there for free. The fact that they can help somebody, do something for other people gives them the feeling of satisfaction and self-fulfillment and gives purpose to their life. 10.Free choice. A passion for choice is a key value. It implies an absence of political or economic restraint and an opportunity to select from numerous options. Free choice is associated with the chance to escape the problems of the past and to create a new life in the New World.

8. The territory expansion

American life was characterized by a growing conflict between the Northern and Southern states. There were millions of black people who were slaves, they exceeded the whites in number. There was a growing rift between the free labour economy of the Northern states and the slave-based plantation economy of the South. In 1808 Congress outlawed the importation of slaves. In 1820,Southern and Northern politicians disputed the issue of whether slavery would be legal in the new western territories Missouri and the Arkansas territory, but it was banned everywhere west and north of Missouri. Then the western expansion was furthered in 1848 when the USA settled a long-standing border dispute with Canada taking over the southern half of the Oregon Country. Thus America became a truly continental power, stretching from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean. In 1850 California was admitted as a free state. Congress passed the Fugitive Slave Act which permitted Southerners to recapture slaves who had escaped to the free states. In 1854 the old issue of slavery in the territories of Kansas and Nebraska was renewed and the quarrel became more bitter. Under the terms of the Missouri Compromise of 1820,the entire region was closed to slavery. In 1857 the Supreme Court passed a decision which denied blacks the rights of American citizens and legalized slavery in the western territories. The country was dramatically moving towards Civil War. The Republican Party was formed in 1854 as anti-slavery party. It united the industrialist of the North, the free farmers and many inhabitants of the towns. Abraham Lincoln became a leading figure in the party. In 1848 Lincoln was elected a member of Congress. And then in 1860 he won the popular vote and became president of the USA. The US, having won its independence, began to develop rapidly. The population was almost rural. Most people lived isolated, with poor books, schools. But the immigrants from the Old World came in great numbers. The government supported them. The Industrial revolution began to make progress. Massachusetts and Rhode Island: textile; Connecticut: tinware and clocks; New York, Pennsylvania: paper, glass, iron. The US was second in shipping after Britain. Political changes aimed at consolidating of central gov-t. The country was governed by Articles of Confederation acc.to which Congress could not make laws or raise taxes. There was no permanent executive or federal judiciary. To this purpose, in May 1787,a convention met in Philadelphia to revise the Articles of Confederation. The delegates, headed by G.Wash., Benj. Franklin, James Madison drafted a new Constitution, which established a strong federal gov-t, gave executive power to an elected president and provided for a Supreme Court. Also it established the principle of checks and balances. The Constitution was ratified in 1789.30 Aprile,1789-G.Washington was unanimously chosen president. He served for 2 terms. He organized a national gov-t, developed politics for settlement, stabilized the admission of 3 new states: Vermont(1791),Kentucky(1792),Tennessee(1796)