Transcript Ⅰ. Geography

Ⅰ. Geography
• 1).The Geographical Characteristics of the United
States
•
Vast area: The United States is bigger in area
than the whole of Europe, spreading from the
Pacific coast to the Atlantic coast. Diversity of
land features: The United States comprehends land
features like forest, desert, swamp, mountains,
plains and one of the world’s largest river systems.
• 2).The Mississippi River
•
The Mississippi River, often called the
“Father of Waters”, is the most important
and largest river in America. It flows for
6,400 kilometers.
3) The Growth of the Union Since Its
Foundation in the 1780s
• At the time of its foundation, the original
Union consisted of thirteen states along the
eastern seaboard. As settlement spread
westwards and stable population capable of
self-government developed new areas, so new
states were allowed to join the Union. Arizona
in 1912 was the forty-eight continental state
joining the Union. In 1959, separate territories
of Hawaii and Alaska joined the Union. Thus
the list of fifty states of the United States was
complete.
4). New England
• New England refers to the northeastern six
states: Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont,
Connecticut, Massachusetts and Rhode
Island, a area running from the Canadian
shore to New York. This area resembles old
England in many ways. Some of the earliest
settlement in America history was in this
area. In general, this part of the country is
small-scale, long established and urban.
5). New York City
• It is the commercial capital of the United
States. It is at the southernmost tip of the
New York State. It is composed of five
boroughs: Manhattan, Brooklyn, the Bronx,
Richmond, and Queen’s, with Manhattan
Island as its center. It is well known for
such places as Wall Street, the Empire
State Building, Harlem and Central Park.
6). Manhattan Island
• It is at southeast part of New York City. It
is the centre of the city and includes things
that are famous to the world: Wall Street,
Fifth Avenue, Broadway, the Empire State
Building. Rockefeller Centre, the United
Nation’s Building, Central Park, Harlem
and so on.
7). The South
• It refers to the area across the Potomac
River and southwards down the Atlantic
coast. This was slave-owning area before
the Civil War and mainly produced tobacco
and cotton. Economically these states are
notoriously backward, but more recently
there has been an industrial development,
helped by federal plans and hydroelectric
power.
9). The Middle West
• It describes the northeastern part of the
central plain, or the northeastern quarter of
the United States except for the states close
to the Atlantic. In terms of political
geography, it refers to these states: Illinois,
Michigan, Indiana, Wisconsin and Ohio
and so on. First developed for farming,
these states include huge, sparsely
populated open spaces. Chicago and
Detroit are two of the big industrial cities
in this area.
10). The search for the California
dream
• California is blessed with attractive scenery
and mild climate. It has the fertile land for the
growing of oranges and grapes. And more
important still are the electronics industry,
aero plane factories, defense plants of many
kinds, and a whole new industrial complex in
this area. Therefore, California is the
Promised Land by many people to fulfill their
goals.
8). The Appalachian Mountains
• The range of the Appalachian Mountains
runs behind and through the eastern states,
beginning for south in Georgia and
continuing northwards to Vermont and
Canada. Sections of the range have different
names, but rounded hills and forests are the
main feature. The mountains place a barrier
to early westward movement in American
history.
• 11). Great Basin
• Great Basin refers to the part between the
Colorado and Columbia Plateaus.
• 12). Great Central Plain
• Great Central Plain refers to the landmass between
the Rocky Mountains and the Appalachians.
• 13). Great Plain
• Great Plain refers to the western part of the central
plain.
• 14). The Five Great Lakes
• The Five Great Lakes refers to Lake Michigan,
Superior, Erie, Huron and Ontario.
Ⅱ. History
• 1). He was a 15th century mariner from Italy
believed that he could reach the Far East by
sailing west from Europe. 2). In 1492, he
persuaded the king and queen of Spain to finance
his voyage to the East. 3). Instead of reaching
Asia, he landed on one of the Bahama Island in
the Caribbean Sea and explore most of the
Caribbean area. 4). After his discovery, Europeans
began to explore and colonize the New World.
2. The Europeans’ colonization of
the New World.
• 1). After Columbia’s discovery, European
countries established settlements in the New
World to claim as much territory as possible.
2). Spanish priests wanted to convert the
indigenous inhabitants of the Americas to
Christianity. 3). European religious and
political dissenters needed a refuge from
persecution in their homelands. 4). Some
individuals thirsted for adventure.
3. The Pilgrims
• 1). In England, there had been a group of people
called Puritans who had broken away from the
Church of England and formed their own churches in
order to purify the Church of England. Later they
fled to Holland to escape the persecution in their
native land. 2) Several years passed when they were
again threatened by religious suppression, they
thought of moving, and this time to America. 3).
They began to call themselves Pilgrims because of
their wanderings in search of religious freedom. 4).
In 1620, they crossed the Atlantic in the ship
Mayflower and settled at Plymouth, Massachusetts.
4. Mayflower
• 1). It is the name of a ship first bringing the
Pilgrims to New England. 2). It started in
September of 1620 carrying 102 passengers. 3). It
landed out of plan in Provincetown Harbor,
Massachusetts. 4). It was on this ship that the first
governor was chosen and the historic Mayflower
Compact was signed. 5). It finally anchored in
Plymouth Harbor where the Pilgrims had a
permanent settlement.
5. Mayflower Compact
• 1). In order to survive, the Pilgrims on the
Mayflower needed a means of establishing
and enforcing proper rules of conduct. Also
they wanted to protect themselves from
rebels within their own ranks, so they
signed the Mayflower Compact. 2). It was
the first formal agreement for selfgovernment in America. 3) It was signed on
the Mayflower, choosing the first governor.
6. Boston Tea Party
• 1). In the years following the French and Indian
War, British government enforced several acts,
which were bitterly opposed by colonists. 2). In
order to ease tensions, British government removed
all the new taxes except that on tea. 3) In 1773, a
group of patriots responded to the tea tax by staging
the Boston Tea Party: Disguised as Indians, they
boarded British merchant ships and tossed 342
crates of tea into Boston harbor. 4). British
parliament then passed the Intolerable Acts, and in
response to this the First Continental Congress was
held in September 1774.
7. The First Continental Congress
• 1). In response to the Intolerable Acts passed
by British parliament, the First Continental
Congress met in Philadelphia in September
1774. 2). This was a meeting of colonial
leaders opposed to what they perceived to be
British oppression in the colonies. They
urged Americans to disobey the Intolerable
Acts and to boycott British trade. 3). After
this, colonists began to organized militias and
to collect and store weapons and ammunition.
8). The Second Continental Congress
• 1). After the first shot of the American War of
Independence was fired at Lexington on April
19,1775, the Second Continental Congress met in
Philadelphia in May 1775. 2). It began to assume the
functions of a national government. It founded a
Continental Army and Navy under the command of
George Washington, and began to print paper money
and opened diplomatic relations with foreign powers.
It adopted on July 4,1776 the Declarations of
Independence, which was drafted by Thomas
Jefferson.
9. The Declaration of Independence
• 1). It held that men have a natural right to
“life, liberty and the pursuit of Happiness”;
that government can rule only with “the
consent of the governor”; that any
government may be dissolved when it fails to
protect the rights of the people. 2). This
theory of politics came from the British
philosopher John Locke. And it is central to
the Anglo-Saxon political tradition.
10. The American War of Independence
• 1). After British parliament passed the Intolerable Acts,
tensions were again created between colonists and
British government. 2). On April 19,1775, the first shot
was fired at Lexington and the American War of
Independence began. 3). In May 1775, the Second
Continental Congress met in Philadelphia and began to
assume the functions of a national government. It
founded a Continental Army and Navy under the
command of George Washington and declared
independence on July 4,1776. 4). In 1781, British
General Cornwallis surrendered at York-town, Virginia
and soon British government asked for peace. 5). The
Treaty of Paris, signed in September 1783, recognized
the independence of the United States.
11. The Constitutional Convention
• 1). Since 1781, the 13 states had been
governed by the Articles of Confederation,
which set up a very weak central government.
2). In May 1787, the Constitutional
Convention met in Philadelphia with
instructions to revise the Articles of
Confederation. 3). Three of the delegates,
George Washington, Benjamin Franklin and
James Madison drafted a new and more
workable Constitution. 4). After much debate,
the Constitution was accepted in 1788.
12. George Washington
• 1). He was a Virginia planter and veteran of
the French and Indian War. 2). In 1775, he
became the commander of the Continental
Army in the American War of Independence.
3). He was one of the three delegates who
drafted the Constitution in the
Constitutional Convention in 1787. 4). He
was the first president of the United States
and governed in a Federalist style. He put
down the “Whiskey Rebellion” during his
administration.
13. The Alien and Sedition Acts
• 1). During John Adam’s administration, the US was
involved in an undeclared naval war with France. In
an atmosphere of war hysteria, the Congress passed
the Alien and Sedition Acts in 1798. 2). These
measures permitted the deportation or arrest of
“ dangerous” aliens, and prescribed fines or
imprisonment for publishing attacks on the
government. 3). Ten Republican editors were
convicted under these acts. 4). The repression
occurred under the Alien and Sedition Acts ended in
1801 with Thomas Jefferson becoming the president.
14. Thomas Jefferson
• 1). He was a Virginia lawyer and author of
the Declaration of Independence. 2). He
spoke against the operation of the Alien and
Sedition Acts and ended the repression
under these acts in 1801, when he was
elected president. 3). As a Republican
president, he exercised his power vigorously.
He purchased Louisiana territory from
France in 1803.
15. The Industrial Revolution in
America
• 1). After the War of 1812, the United States
enjoyed a period of rapid economic expansion.
The Industrial Revolution had reached
America. 2). A national network of roads and
canals was built, and the first steam railroad
opened in Baltimore in 1830. 3). There were
textile mills in New England; iron foundries
in Pennsylvania. And by the 1850s, factories
were producing various goods.
16. Andrew Jackson
• 1). He was the first man born into a poor
family and born in the west to be elected
president in 1828. 2). He and his democratic
party promoted popular democracy and
appealed to the humble members of society.
He rewarded inexperienced but loyal
supporters with government jobs. 3). He
broke the power of the Bank of the United
States. 4). He made land available to
western settlers by forcing Indian tribes to
move west of the Mississippi.
17. Monroe Doctrine
• President Monroe put it forward in 1823.
Main points: the European countries ought
not to start any new colonies in North or
South America, not to interfere with the
newly-established South American
republics, and the United States ought not to
interfere in the affairs of European countries.
Monroe doctrine was an important symbol
of American expansionism.
18. The American Civil War
• 1) In 19th- century America, the issue of slavery
had become the central point of contention in
politics, economics and cultural life.2). After
Lincoln won the election in 1861,11 Southern and
border states seceded from the Union and formed
the Confederate States of America. The American
Civil War began. 3). Lincoln issued the
Emancipation Proclamation on January 1,1863.
Southern General Lee surrendered to General Grant
in April 1865 and all other Confederate forces soon
surrendered. Lincoln was assassinated on April
14,1865.
• 4). The Civil War was the most traumatic
episode in American history. It devastated
the South and subjected that region to
military occupation. America lost more
soldiers in this war than in any other. 5).
The war resolved two fundamental
questions. It put an end of slavery, which
was legally abolished by the 13th
Amendment to the Constitution in 1865. It
also assured the integrity of the United
States as an indivisible nation.
19. The Ku Klux Klan
• 1). After the Civil War, some Southern
whites formed the Ku Klux Klan. 2). It was
a violent secret society that hoped to protect
white interests and advantages by
terrorizing blacks and preventing them from
making social advances. 3). By 1872, the
federal government had suppressed the Klan,
but it revived several times in later history.
20. The Situation of Blacks After the
Civil War
• 1). Though the 13th Amendment to the Constitution in
1865 had legally abolished slavery, it did not ensure
equality in fact for former slaves. 2). Southern blacks
were “second-class citizens”. They were not allowed to
vote, were threatened by the Ku Klux Klan, and their
freedom was restricted by the black codes. 3). Toward
the end of the 19th century, the segregation and
oppression of blacks grew far more rigid: Southern
laws enforced strict segregation in many public places;
most blacks had to continue to work as tenant farmers.
4). Although blacks were legally free, they lived and
were treated very much like slaves.
21. Reconstruction
• 1). After the Civil War, the US Congress put
forward the program of Reconstruction, or
reform, of the Southern states. 2). The
program was bitterly opposed by most
Southern whites. 3). It ended in 1877, when
new constitutions had been ratified in all
Southern states and all federal troops were
withdrawn from the south.
22. The Westward Movement
• 1). The Westward Movement began
following the end of the Civil War.2).
Miners searching gold and silver went to the
Rocky Mountain region. Farmers settled in
Minnesota and the Dakotas. Cowboys
managed cattle on the plains of Texas and
other western states. 3). As settlers kept
moving west, they fought with Indians and
forced them from their land.
23. Cowboys
• 1). During the Westward Movement,
cowboys, or hired horsemen managed cattle
on the plains of Texas and other western
states. 2). Most of them were former
Southern soldiers or former slaves. 3). They
were America’s proletarian heroes, and
were not so violent as movies later
represented them to be. 4). They had
become most celebrated and romanticized
figures in American culture.
24. The Great Depression
• 1). On October 24, 1929----“Black Thursday”----a
wave of panic selling of stocks swept the New York
Stock Exchange. Share and other security prices
collapsed.2) By 1932, thousands of banks and
businesses had failed. Industrial production was cut
in half. Farm income had fallen by more than half.
Wages had decreased 60 percent. New investment
was down 90 percent. As a result one out of every
four workers was unemployed. 3). Franklin D.
Roosevelt won the 1932 election and carried out the
New Deal to improve the economy. 4) Full recovery
from the Depression was brought about by the
defense buildup prior to America’s entering the WW
Ⅱ.
25. The New Deal
• 1). To deal with the Depression, President Franklin
Roosevelt rushed through Congress a great
number of laws within the historic “ Hundred
Days”. 2). Some of the famous ones in this New
Deal program were the WPA, AAA and the Social
Security Act. 3). The New Deal program did not
end the Depression, but the economy improved as
a result of this program of government
intervention.
Ⅲ. Politics and Government
• 1. Political Parties in the United States
• 1). Soon after the Union was established, political
parties developed. The first two political parties in
American history were the Federalists and the
Republicans. 2). At present, two parties, Democrats
and Republicans, dominate the political scene. 3).
The two parties are very complex in their aims and
in their basis of popular support. But in the long run,
they do provide means of keeping government close
to the people.
2. Separation of Powers
• Influenced by Montesquieu’s theory of
division of powers, the US Constitution
ruled that political structures should share
out political power between legislative,
executive and judicial authorities, and that
these authorities should exercise checks
against each other.
3. Government at Various Levels
• 1). The Federal government has three branches---executive (the President), legislature( Congress) and
judicial. The three elements are checked and
balanced by one another. 2).In each state government,
power is also divided among three agencies--legislature (usually the two houses, elected for fixed
terms), executive (the governor) and judges of the
State Supreme Court. 3). Each state is divided into
countries, which have their own powers. 4). Within
the countries the towns have their own local
governments, mainly as cities. These city
governments, with elected mayor, council and judges,
reproduce the state pattern on a smaller scale.
4. The Role of the US Congress
• 1). It is the law-making body. 2). No federal
taxes can be collected or money spent
without the approval of both Houses. 3) If
the President refuses to sign the laws, his
veto can be over-ridden by a two-thirds
majority in both House. 4) All treaties and
all the President’s appointments to high
offices, are subject to the Senate’s approval.
5. Elections for the Two Houses
• 1). Elections for both Houses are held in November
each even-numbered year. 2). The whole House of
Representatives is elected to serve for only two years.
Each state has one seat in the House of
Representatives for every 1/435 share that it has of
the Whole US population. 3). Senators are elected in
rotation for six years with each state’s two senators
elected at separate elections. 4). If a senator or
representative dies or resigns, a special election is
held to fill his place for the remainder of this term.
6. Federalism
• 1). The states give up their rights to conduct
separate relations with each other and with
the outside world, but each state kept the
basic powers of government for itself within
its own territory. 2). The Federal
government should have only the powers,
which are necessary for providing for the
matters, which are of common interest to
them all.
7. The US Federal Constitution
• 1). It is the supreme law in the United States, and is
the main expression of the American ideal. 2). It is a
short document, which embodies laws and principles
for the form of the US government. Some of the
most famous articles in this Constitution are the First,
the Second, the third and the Fifth. And the first ten
amendments----the Bill of Rights----are very
important. 3). Some of it is vague and uncertain in
meaning, and therefore involves much difficulty in
interpretation. 4) It is the oldest written constitution
in the world and has inspired dozens of other
countries seeking political reform.
Ⅳ. Education
• 1. Day Care Centers
• 1). They provide care for preschool children of
working mothers who need a place to leave their
children all day, five days a week. 2). Free, highquality day care is essential for women if they are to
participate fully in society. 3). The need for more day
care centers is acute because about 30 percent of
mothers with children under age six are in the labor
force and the number of working mothers with
preschool children is still increasing.
2. Nursery Schools
• 1). Nursery schools accept children from three to
five years old for half-day sessions ranging from
twice a week to five days a week. 2). The typical
nursery school classroom is equipped much like
a kindergarten, plus an outdoor playground. 3). A
youngster who has no playmates his age living
nearby may greatly benefit from attending
nursery school. 4). Nursery schools usually
charge tuition, though some are subsidized and
some offer scholarship.
3. Kindergarten
• 1). In most area, free public education begins
with kindergarten classes for five-year-olds. 2)
Through these half-day sessions, the child
becomes accustomed to being separate from
Mommy, playing and sharing with other children,
and following the directions of a teacher. 3). He
is also introduced to skills and information that
will help him later with academic work. 4). This
early childhood education is very beneficial to
children.
4. Grammar School
• 1). In the United States, classes of students are
divided into twelve academic levels called
grades. 2). The first academic institution that a
child attends is called grammar school/ 3). In
some school systems, it includes grades one
through eight and in other school systems, one
through six. 4). Grammar schools teach reading ,
arithmetic, language and some other subjects.
5. Higher Education
• 1). It refers to American education on the
college level. 2). American higher education is
provide by more than 3,000 institutions. 3).
Some are supported privately and some by local
or state governments. Most are coeducational.
Some are called colleges, and others are
universities. 4). After WW Ⅱ, colleges and
universities have expanded tremendously. This
huge expansion reflects the trend toward
democratizing higher education.
Ⅴ. Race and Ethnic Groups
• 1. The Melting Pot
• 1). This phrase comes from the play The Melting
Pot. 2) It holds that America is the great Melting
Pot where all the races of Europe are melting and
re-forming. 3). The US is a heterogeneous society
where diverse races and cultures are blended. 4).
Recently, some people think America should be
called “ a salad bowl”.
• 2 . WASP
• It stands for the White Anglo-Saxon
Protestant. It is the dominant group in the
US controlling economic assets and
political power.
3. Slavery in the US
• 1). It started in mid-seventeenth century. 2).
The demand for cheap labor led to a massive
slave trade. 3). The myth of racial inferiority
of blacks was propagated as a justification for
their continued subjugation. 4). The institution
of slavery was finally ended by the Civil War,
Lincoln’s emancipation of slaves in 1863. and
the thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution
in 1865.
4. Segregation Laws
• 1). After the abolition of slavery wholesale
discrimination was practiced against black
Americans. 2). Many states passes
segregation laws to keep the races apart in
school, housing, restaurants, and other
public facilities. 3) Segregation laws
continued to be enforced in Southern States
until the 1950s.
5. Martin Luther King, Jr.
• 1). He was a black leader of the civil rights
movement in the 1950s and the 1960s. 2). He
attained national prominence by advocating a
policy of non-violent resistance to segregation.
3). In 1964, he was awarded the Nobel Peace
Prize. 4). In 1968 he was assassinated by a
white man. The assassination touched off a
coast-to-coast wave of the most violent
protest and demonstrations against racial
discrimination in the US.
6. Montgomery Bus Boycott
• On December 1, 1955, when Mrs. Rosa Parks, an
active member of the NAACP (the national
association for the advancement of colored people),
refused to give up her seat to a white man on a public
bus in Montgomery, Alabama, she got arrested.
Under the leadership of Martin Luther King, black
people in Montgomery decided to organize a bus
boycott for one day. With unflinching determination,
the black people in Montgomery eventually forced
the company to back down from its discriminatory
position.
7. The Civil Right Act of 1964
• This Act outlawed discrimination on the
basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national
origin, not only in public accommodations
but also in employment. It also authorized
the government to withhold funds public
agencies that discriminated on the basis of
race, and it empowered the attorney general
to guarantee voting rights and end school
segregation.
8. The Black Underclass
• 1). They live in the urban ghettos. 2). They
consist of habitually unemployed or
underemployed black people. 3). Many
members are young and unskilled. 4). This
“underclass” continues to persist and offers
an explosive potential for the future.
9. The Reservation
• 1). It was established by the US government
for the Indians after the Civil War,
segregation the Indians from the national
life. 2). In 1871 Congress decided that no
Indian tribe would ever be recognized ad an
independent political entity again and made
all Indians wards of the federal government,
without any rights of citizenship. 3). Not
until 1924 was the right of American
citizenship extended to the original
inhabitants of the land.
10. Hispanics
• 1). It is a general name for Spanish-speaking
population of the US. 2). The Hispanic population
is a large, diverse and rapidly growing one. 3). It
contains Chicanos, Puerto Ricans, Cubans and
other people from various Spanish-speaking
nations of Central and South America. 4). The
Hispanic population is growing so rapidly because
of three factors: relative youth; cultural reluctance
to practice family planning; constant inflow of
new immigrants mostly over the Mexican border.
• 5). The diverse groups within the Hispanic
population share a common predicament as
a primarily poor, Catholic, Spanishspeaking people in a predominantly affluent,
Protestant, English-speaking country. 6).
Most Hispanics have relatively low levels
of education and income and they are an
overwhelmingly urban population.
11. Chicanos
• 1). They are Mexican Americans. 2). They have
been regarded as aliens on American soil since the
mid-19th century. 3). It is only in recent years that
the Chicanos have come to be generally recognized
as a genuinely American minority. 4). They are
regarded as sojourners in the US who can “go back
home” if they are not satisfied. 5). Urban Chicanos
are concentrated in ethnic neighborhoods. 6). The
Chicano population is a relatively poor one with
relatively low educational achievement. 7).
Chicano farm workers have experienced severe
economic exploitation. 8). Chicano leaders are
demanding entry into mainstream America without
assimilation into the “Anglo” culture.
12. The Chinatowns
• 1). Chinese Americans, because of their own
choice and discrimination, have kept to their own
urban communities----the Chinatowns. 2). Despite
the thriving appearance, the Chinatowns contain
an array of social problems----most notably
overcrowding and extensive poverty. 3). The
Chinese have retained a great deal of cultural
heritage, including language, cuisine and
organizations.
13. Jewish American
• 1). Three percent of all Americans are Jews,
most of them originally from Eastern Europe,
including Russia. 2). They tended to be
concentrated in the eastern area, particularly
New York. 3). Their political status is rather
similar to the Catholics, and it is still
considered unlikely for a Jew to be elected
President. 4). Many of them have been
successful in seeking economic prosperity in
American condition. 5). They are
predominantly liberal, and inclined to be
expressed in politics through the Democratic
Party.