Студопедия — The history of America.
Студопедия Главная Случайная страница Обратная связь

Разделы: Автомобили Астрономия Биология География Дом и сад Другие языки Другое Информатика История Культура Литература Логика Математика Медицина Металлургия Механика Образование Охрана труда Педагогика Политика Право Психология Религия Риторика Социология Спорт Строительство Технология Туризм Физика Философия Финансы Химия Черчение Экология Экономика Электроника

The history of America.






THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

Lecture 1

The history of America.

The history of the United States is not as rich as that of Great Britain but it is full of dramatic events.

Scientists believe that the first people appeared on the American continent 25 000 years ago. They could come from Asia using the land bridge between North America and Asia. Later, the natural bridge was covered with water and thus the Bering Strait appeared. So, the continents were isolated and the migration stopped.

For thousands of year America lay unknown beyond the western seas. The early peoples of Europe and Near East were slow to discover the West mainly because of their fear of the open sea. The western seas were believed to be infested by monsters with jaws so big that they could crash the ships like an eggshell.

Time went on and there were some people who waged war with the stormy waters. Those people were Vikings. One of them, called Eric the Red, sailed toward the setting sun in search of new lands. He came to a land rising high above the sea. It was covered with ice even in the middle of summer, but on the south-west side of the big island he found land with rich meadows and fine woods. Eric the Red called that land Greenland. The discovery of Greenland took place in 982.

Some years later Leif Ericson, the son of Eric the Red reached the land known now under the name of New England. Leif Ericson even lived there for some time. He and his men had to leave the land because of native tribes. When Leif Ericson saw a great number of canoes of the native tribes (they were really countless) he understood that they faced a great danger. Ericson wasn’t inclined to wage wars with those native tribes and made up his mind to return to Greenland.

America was rediscovered only in 15th century by Christopher Columbus. Christopher Columbus was a sailor. His dream was to find a new way to India. The Spanish government gave him money and with three little ships Columbus sailed westwards. It took place in 1492. He sailed for three months. The voyage was extremely dangerous. At last on October, 12 he saw the land. They reached an island not far from the coast of North America. Christopher Columbus thought it was India and gave the name “Indians” to the red – skin people living there.

Until the end of his life Columbus thought that he had discovered a new way to India. That’s why the American mainland was called West Indies. Christopher Columbus made four voyages to America.

Many people followed Columbus and sailed to the discovered land in search of money, freedom, happiness or adventures. An Italian seaman Amerigo Vespucci was one of them. He made three voyages to America. It was Amerigo Vespucci who proved that the land discovered by Columbus was not India but the new continent. For some time America was called “The New World”.

Later, however, it was decided to name the New World after Amerigo. Since that time the new continent has been called “America”, that is the land of Amerigo.

In 1966 the United States Congress declared Leif Ericson to be a discoverer of the New World. Since then on October, 9 the Americans celebrate Leif Ericson’s Day. However it doesn’t abolish Columbus Day which is held on October, 12. Columbus Day is devoted to rediscovery and exploration of America.

Indians in North America. Before the first Europeans came to North America there were people living there who had a red skin. The white men called them Red men or Indians. The Indian tribes were not united. They hunted and grew corn. In the south the Indians also grew tobacco which was new to the white men. In the west there were many buffaloes. The Indians made clothes out of buffalo skin. Their houses, called wigwams, were also covered with buffalo skin.

Spain, France and England sent many seamen to the American continent. Some of them began to trade with the Indians.

The beginning of the colonies. During the reign of the King James I many Englishmen wanted to leave England. They didn’t like their King and called him “The Foolish King of England”. In 1620 some English families (about one hundred people) left England on board the ship called “Mayflower” and sailed to America. For seven long weeks the ship sailed through the storms of the Atlantic Ocean.

It reached the American shore when it was already winter. It was raining and a cold wind was blowing when the Englishmen arrived. Sixteen men left the ship and went ashore. When they came back they brought some corn with them. They found the corn on the coast where the Indians had left it. Next day was Sunday and everybody on the ship “Mayflower” had a rest. On Monday the women went ashore to wash the dirty clothes. Since that time Monday has been wash-day in America.

During the next five weeks the men from the “Mayflower” left the ship everyday. Some of them didn’t come back for many days. They were looking for a good place to live. The weather was cold and more and more men fell ill. At last they found a suitable place. There was a good harbour for ships there, some fields and forests and even a small river. The people began to build a village there which was later called “New Plymouth”. The pilgrims were exhausted. They didn’t have enough food to eat. Many people died. In spite of all the difficulties they lived through the winter and in spring things went better. The settlers built good houses and the life became easier.

All the Indians who came to the village of New Plymouth called the Englishmen “Yankee” because it was difficult for them to pronounce the word “Englishmen”. Since that time “Yankee” has been the name of white man in America.

The English settlers who came to America on the ship the “Mayflower” in 1620 and founded the colony of Plymouth in Massachusetts are usually called the Pilgrim Fathers.

By 1733 there were already 13 colonies. The colonies were slowly transformed into one people. Several factors contributed this process. Perhaps the most important was the fact that the colonists were overwhelmingly Protestant and English (WASP – White Anglo-Saxon Protestant – is considered to be a real American). They shared the English language, they believed in British customs and traditions of parliamentary self-government and trial by jury, and they were loyal to the British king. Their rich colonial culture was based on British models. They saw themselves transplanted Englishmen and called England “home”. Major exceptions to this early homogeneity were the Dutch of New Netherland (future New York), Germans and Scotch-Irish and large numbers of African slaves.

The Boston Tea Party. In the 18th century these thirteen English colonies in North America were under British rule. The British forced the Americans to pay taxes on sugar, wine, coffee, tea and other products. In 1773 the British ships loaded with tea came into the Boston port. The Americans decided not to take this tea. According to their plan several men dressed as Indians went on board the ships, took the boxes of tea and dropped them into the water. This incident was named the Boston Tea Party. The British Government closed the Boston port and sent soldiers to the American colonies.

Soon the war between Britain and its American colonies began. It was the War for Independence of American colonies which lasted for eight years, from 1775 to 1783. This was a war between Britain and its colonies in North America which wanted to be free. George Washington was a commander–in–chief of the North American army. He did his best to won the victory.

In 1776 the Declaration of Independence was written by Thomas Jefferson. The Declaration of Independence was adopted on July, 4 in 1776. Since that time July, 4 has been the greatest national holiday in the United States. It is called Independence Day. July, 4 is considered to the birthday of the American nation.

After the end of the War for Independence in 1783, 16 states were formed. George Washington became the first president of those states.

Slavery in the United States. In the 18th and 19th centuries the United States were divided into two parts: industrial North where there was no slavery and agricultural South where slave labour was much used.

From early times there had been Negro slaves in the South of the United States. The majority of them were taken from Africa by force. Negro slaves worked on tobacco and cotton plantations. Their life was very hard. They worked from early morning till night. Some of them died from starvation. Their owners could sell them separating husbands and wives, mothers and children. The Negro slaves were freed in 1863 by President Lincoln after the Civil War between the States (1861-1865).

It was the war between the industrial North and agricultural South. The northern states were against slavery. The war began soon after Abraham Lincoln was elected President in 1860. Lincoln was a progressive political leader who was against using the labour of Negro slaves in the Southern States. The Southern States left the Union and formed their own Confederation.

The army of the South was better organized and won several victories during the first period of war. Only when General Grant became a commander–in–chief of the Northern army, the North managed to win the final victory. The Civil War between Northern and Southern States was an important landmark in the history of the USA.

Check yourself

1. What is the official date of the discovery of America?

2. Why did Indians call the Englishmen “Yankee”?

3. What was the reason of the War for Independence?

4. Who won the Civil War?

 







Дата добавления: 2015-09-04; просмотров: 573. Нарушение авторских прав; Мы поможем в написании вашей работы!



Кардиналистский и ординалистский подходы Кардиналистский (количественный подход) к анализу полезности основан на представлении о возможности измерения различных благ в условных единицах полезности...

Обзор компонентов Multisim Компоненты – это основа любой схемы, это все элементы, из которых она состоит. Multisim оперирует с двумя категориями...

Композиция из абстрактных геометрических фигур Данная композиция состоит из линий, штриховки, абстрактных геометрических форм...

Важнейшие способы обработки и анализа рядов динамики Не во всех случаях эмпирические данные рядов динамики позволяют определить тенденцию изменения явления во времени...

Сравнительно-исторический метод в языкознании сравнительно-исторический метод в языкознании является одним из основных и представляет собой совокупность приёмов...

Концептуальные модели труда учителя В отечественной литературе существует несколько подходов к пониманию профессиональной деятельности учителя, которые, дополняя друг друга, расширяют психологическое представление об эффективности профессионального труда учителя...

Конституционно-правовые нормы, их особенности и виды Характеристика отрасли права немыслима без уяснения особенностей составляющих ее норм...

Примеры задач для самостоятельного решения. 1.Спрос и предложение на обеды в студенческой столовой описываются уравнениями: QD = 2400 – 100P; QS = 1000 + 250P   1.Спрос и предложение на обеды в студенческой столовой описываются уравнениями: QD = 2400 – 100P; QS = 1000 + 250P...

Дизартрии у детей Выделение клинических форм дизартрии у детей является в большой степени условным, так как у них крайне редко бывают локальные поражения мозга, с которыми связаны четко определенные синдромы двигательных нарушений...

Педагогическая структура процесса социализации Характеризуя социализацию как педагогический процессе, следует рассмотреть ее основные компоненты: цель, содержание, средства, функции субъекта и объекта...

Studopedia.info - Студопедия - 2014-2024 год . (0.013 сек.) русская версия | украинская версия