CONTENT Geographical position of the USA 12 The

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CONTENT Ключевые понятия: Коренное население Америки, первые европейские поселенцы в Америке, формирование США и

CONTENT Ключевые понятия: Коренное население Америки, первые европейские поселенцы в Америке, формирование США и война за независимость, государственное устройство США. Вопросы для самопроверки: Geographical position of the USA. 12. The discovery of America and early Americans. 13. Struggle for independence. 14. The US Constitution and the Bill of Rights. 15. What were the reasons of the Civil War? 16. The American system of Government. Congress and the President. 17. Check and balances: what does it mean? 18. American holidays and traditions. 19. Speak on American culture. 20. Speak on American character and values.

Discovery of America IF YOU ASK ‘WHO DISCOVERED AMERICA? ’ THE ANSWER THAT YOU

Discovery of America IF YOU ASK ‘WHO DISCOVERED AMERICA? ’ THE ANSWER THAT YOU WILL USUALLY RECEIVE IS ‘CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS’. BUT DID HE? THE ASIAN ANCESTORS OF THE AMERINDIANS ARRIVED IN AMERICA LONG BEFORE COLUMBUS. CHRISTOPER COLUMBUS WAS BORN IN 1451 IN ITALY. HE STARTED HIS TRAVELS BY SHIP WHEN HE WAS 9. AT THAT TIME MERCHANTS WERE IMPORTING GOODS FROM CHINA, JAPAN, AND THE EAST INDIA WHICH WAS SLOW AND EXPENSIVE. THEREFORE HE DECIDED TO FIND A SHORTER ROUTE TO THOSE COUNTRIES. HE ASKED KING JOHN OF PORTUGAL FOR THREE SHIPS AND SAILORS, EQUIPMENT AND FOOD FOR THE TRIP. BUT THE KING REFUSED.

Why is America called ‘America’ ? WHY DID EUROPEAN GEOGRAPHERS GIVE THE NAME AMERICA

Why is America called ‘America’ ? WHY DID EUROPEAN GEOGRAPHERS GIVE THE NAME AMERICA TO THE LANDS THAT COLUMBUS DISCOVERED? WHY DID THEY NOT NAME THEM AFTER COLUMBUS? THE REASON IS THAT TO THE END OF HIS LIFE COLUMBUS BELIEVED THAT HIS DISCOVERIES WERE PART OF ASIA. THE MAN WHO DID MOST TO CORRECT THIS MISTAKEN IDEA WAS AMERIGO VESPUCCI (1454 -1512). VESPUCCI WAS AN ITALIAN SAILOR FROM THE CITY OF FLORENCE. DURING THE LATE 1490 s HE WROTE SOME LETTERS IN WHICH HE DESCRIBED TWO VOYAGES OF EXPLORATION THAT HE HAD MADE ALONG THE COASTS OF SOUTH AMERICA. HE WAS SURE THAT THESE COASTS WERE PART OF A NEW CONTINENT. SOME YEARS LATER VESPUCCI’S LETTERS WERE READ BY A GERMAN MAPMAKER WHO WAS REVISING AN OLD GEOGRAPHY OF THE WORLD. THE LETTERS CONVINCED THE SCHOLAR THAT VESPUCCI WAS CORRECT, AND THAT THE LANDS BEYOND THE ATLANTIC WERE A NEW CONTINENT. TO HONOR VESPUCCI THE SCHOLAR NAMED THEM AMERICA , USING THE FEMININE FORM OF VESPUCCI’S FIRST NAME AS THE OTHER CONTINENTS HAD FEMALE NAMES. VESPUCCI BECAME A SPANISH CITIZEN IN 1505, AND IN 1508 HE WAS APPOINTED CHIEF PILOT OR NAVIGATOR OF SPAIN. HE WAS PLACED IN CHARGE OF PREPARING MAPS OF THE NEWLY DISCOVERED TERRITORY AND PLANNING ROUTES TO THE NEW WORLD.

The Pilgrim Fathers ‘PILGRIMS’ ARE PEOPLE WHO MAKE A JOURNEY FOR RELIGIOUS REASONS. BUT

The Pilgrim Fathers ‘PILGRIMS’ ARE PEOPLE WHO MAKE A JOURNEY FOR RELIGIOUS REASONS. BUT FOR AMERICANS THE WORD HAS A SPECIAL MEANING. TO THEM IT MEANS A SMALL GROUP OF ENGLISH MEN AND WOMEN WHO SAILED ACROSS THE ATLANTIC OCEAN IN THE YEAR OF 1620. THE GROUP’S MEMBERS CAME TO BE CALLED THE PILGRIMS BECAUSE THEY WENT TO AMERICA TO FIND RELIGIOUS FREEDOM. SOMETIMES AMERICANS CALL THEM THE PILGRIM FATHERS. THIS IS BECAUSE THEY SEE THEM AS THE MOST IMPORTANT OF THE FOUNDERS OF THE FUTURE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. THE PILGRIMS LEFT ENGLAND ON SEPTEMBER 16, 1620 ABOARD AN OLD TRADING VESSEL ‘THE MAYFLOWER’. ON NOVEMBER 9, 1620 THEY REACHED NEW LANDS.

Thanksgiving EVERY YEAR ON THE FOURTH THURSDAY IN NOVEMBER AMERICANS SELEBRATE A HOLIDAY CALLED

Thanksgiving EVERY YEAR ON THE FOURTH THURSDAY IN NOVEMBER AMERICANS SELEBRATE A HOLIDAY CALLED THANKSGIVING. THE FIRST PEOPLE TO CELEBRATE THIS DAY WERE THE PILGRIMS. IN NOVEMBER, 1621 THEY SAT DOWN TO EAT TOGETHER AND TO GIVE THANKS TO GOD FOR ENABLING THEM TO SURVIVE THE HARDSHIPS OF THEIR FIRST YEAR IN AMERICA. THE PILGRIMS WERE JOINED AT THEIR FEAST BY NATIVE AMERICANS. THE PEOPLE OF THE NEARBY FORESTS HAD SHARED CORN WITH THE PILGRIMS AND SHOWN THEM THE BEST PLACES TO CATCH FISH. LATER THE SETTLERS HAD BEEN GIVEN SEED CORN AND SHOWN HOW TO PLANT CROPS THAT WOULD GROW WELL IN THE AMERICAN SOIL. 6

Colonial life BY THE YEAR 1733 THE ENGLISH OWNED THIRTEEN SEPARATE COLONIES ALONG THE

Colonial life BY THE YEAR 1733 THE ENGLISH OWNED THIRTEEN SEPARATE COLONIES ALONG THE ATLANTIC COAST OF NORTH AMERICA. THE COLONIES STRETCHED FROM NEW HAMPSHIRE IN THE NORTH TO GEORGIA IN THE SOUTH. MAKING A NEW SETTLEMENT ALWAYS BEGAN IN THE SAME WAY. THE SETTLERS CLEARED THE LAND OF TREES, THEN THEY CUT THE TREES IN LOGS AND PLANKS. THEY USED THESE TO BUILD A HOUSE AND A BARN. IF THEIR SOIL WAS FERTILE THE SETTLERS LIVED WELL. BUT IF THE SOIL WAS POOR, LIFE COULD BE HARD AND DISAPPOINTING. SETTLERS WITH POOR SOIL OFTEN LEFT THEIR FARMS AND MOVED WESTWARD. AS THEY TRAVELED INLAND THEY PASSED FEWER AND FEWER VILLAGES. AT LAST THERE WERE NONE AT ALL. THIS AREA WHERE EUROPEAN SETTLEMENT CAME TO AN END AND THE FOREST HOMELANDS OF NATIVE AMERICANS BEGAN WAS CALLED THE FRONTIER. 7

Fighting for Independence BRITAIN HAD WON AN EMPIRE. BUT ITS VICTORY LED DIRECTLY TO

Fighting for Independence BRITAIN HAD WON AN EMPIRE. BUT ITS VICTORY LED DIRECTLY TO CONFLICT WITH ITS AMERICAN COLONIES. AMERICANS IN THE THIRTEEN COLONIES WANTED TO BE FREE OF BRITISH RULE. GENERAL GEORGE WASHINGTON LED THE COLONISTS IN THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR. THOMAS JEFFERSON WROTE THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE, AND THE COLONIES APPROVED IT. ON JULY 2, 1776 THE CONTINENTAL CONGRESS TOOK THE STEP THAT MANY AMERICANS BELIEVED WAS INEVITABLE. IT CUT ALL POLITICAL TIES WITH BRITAIN AND DECLARED THAT ‘THESE UNITED COLONIES ARE, AND OF RIGHT OUGHT TO BE, FREE AND INDEPENDENT STATES’. ON JULY 4 IT ISSUED THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE. 8

The Declaration of Independence THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE IS THE MOST IMPORTANT DOCUMENT IN

The Declaration of Independence THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE IS THE MOST IMPORTANT DOCUMENT IN AMERICAN HISTORY. IT WAS BY THOMAS JEFFERSON, A LANDOWNER AND LAWYER FROM VIRGINIA. AFTER REPEATING THAT THE COLONIES WERE NOW ‘FREE AND INDEPENDENT STATES’ IT OFICIALLY NAMED THEM THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE WAS MORE THAN A STATEMENT THAT THE COLONIES WERE A NEW NATION. IT SET OUT THE IDEAS BEHIND THE CHANGE THAT WAS BEING MADE. 9

The Declaration of Independence THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE CLAIMED THAT ‘ALL MEN ARE CREATED

The Declaration of Independence THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE CLAIMED THAT ‘ALL MEN ARE CREATED EQUAL AND HAD A NATURAL RIGHT TO ‘LIFE, LIBERTY AND THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS’. IT ALSO SAID THAT GOVERNMENTS CAN ONLY JUSTLY CLAIM THE RIGHT TO RULE IF THEY HAVE THE AGREEMENT OF THOSE THEY GOVERN. NOW AMERICANS CELEBRATE THE FOURTH OF JULY AS THE BIRTHDAY OF THE UNITED STATES. INDEPENDENCE DAY IS AN OFFICIAL NATIONAL HOLIDAY. PEOPLE HAVE PICNICS AND THERE ARE OFTEN PARADES, SPEECHES, AND FIREWORKS. AMERICAN FLAGS ARE EVERYWHERE. 10

Forming the New Nation 11 IN SEPTEMBER 1783 TREATY OF PARIS WAS SIGNED. IN

Forming the New Nation 11 IN SEPTEMBER 1783 TREATY OF PARIS WAS SIGNED. IN THIS TREATY BRITAIN OFFICIALLY RECOGNIZED HER FORMER COLONIES AS AN INDEPENDENT NATION. THE TREATY GRANTED THE NEW UNITED STATES ALL OF NORTH AMERICA FROM CANADA IN THE NORTH TO FLORIDA IN THE SOUTH, AND FROM THE ATLANTIC COAST TO THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER. THE TREATY OF PARIS HAD RECOGNIZED THE UNITED STATES AS AN INDEPENDENT NATION. BUT IT WAS OT ONE NATION AS IT IS TODAY. IN 1783 MOST AMERICANS FELT MORE LOYALTYTO THEIR OWN STATE THANTO THE NEW UNITED STATES. IT WAS CLEAR THAT FOR THE UNITED STATES TO SURVIVE THERE WOULD HAVE TO BE CHANGES. A COMPLETELY NEW SYSTEM OF GOVERNMENT WAS STARTED FOR THE COUNTRY. A DOCUMENT CALLED THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES APPEARED. THE NEW CONSTITUTION STILL LEFT THE STATE GOVERNMENTS WITH A WIDE RANGE OF POWERS. BUT IT MADE THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT MUCH STRONGER THAN BEFORE.

The Melting Pot § IN 1908 ISRAEL ZANGWILL WROTE A PLAY ‘THE MELTING POT’.

The Melting Pot § IN 1908 ISRAEL ZANGWILL WROTE A PLAY ‘THE MELTING POT’. THE HERO, A REFUGEE FROM PERSECUTION IN CZARIST RUSSIA, ESCAPES TO THE UNITED STATES. IN THE FINAL SCENE HE SPEAKS WITH ENTHUSIASM ABOUT THE MIXTURE OF PEOPLES IN HIS NEW HOMELAND: ‘AMERICA IS THE GREAT MELTING POT WHERE ALL THE RACES OF EUROPE ARE MELTING AND REFORMING! GERMAN AND FRENCHMAN, IRISHMAN AND ENGLISHMAN, JEWS AND RUSSIANS… GOD IS MAKING THE AMERICAN…HE WILL BE THE FUSION OF ALL RACES, THE COMING SUPERMAN’. § IN FACT THIS REALLY NEVER HAPPENED. THE UNITED STATES TURNED OUT TO BE MORE OF ASALAD BOWL THAN AMELTING POT. GROUPS FROM SIMILAR NATIONAL AND ETHNIC BACKGROUNDS OFTEN STAYED TOGETHER KEEPING ALIVE THEIR OLD IDENTITIES AND MANY OF THEIR OLD CUSTOMS. THEY LIVED IN ‘CHINATOWNS’ AND ‘LITLE ITALYS’, AREAS POPULATED ALMOST ENTIRELY BY AMERICANS OF SIMILAR ETHNIC ORIGINS. 12

The Golden Door Statue of Liberty – a statue of a woman on Liberty

The Golden Door Statue of Liberty – a statue of a woman on Liberty Island, in New York Harbour, given to the US by France in 1884 to celebrate the American and French REVOLUTIONS. The woman is holding up a TORCH in her right hand represents freedom. The words written at the base of the statue are famous and well-known to most Americans. These words are: Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless tempest-tossed to me! I lift my lamp beside the golden door. 13

TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE § § § § § Who discovered America? After whom was

TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE § § § § § Who discovered America? After whom was America named? Who are called Pilgrim Fathers? What were the first British colonies in America? What is called the Frontier? When was the Declaration of Independence adopted? Why did the War of Independence begin? When was the French Treaty adopted? Who was the first US president? What is the Melting pot?