- •Lecture 11 the general outline, including geography
- •11.1. General description: what comes to mind first?
- •11.2. Contributions to civilization.
- •11.3. Contributions to culture.
- •11.4. The American "melting pot of nations".
- •Lecture 12 the discovery of america, and the puritan experiment
- •12.1. The earlier history of America's discovery.
- •12.2. The British colonization of the new continent.
- •12.3. The beginning of Puritan America.
- •12.4. The theocratic experiment.
- •Lecture 13 american enlightenment
- •13.1. The beginning of the Enlightenment.
- •13.2. Thomas Jefferson, the author of the Declaration of Independence.
- •13.3. The American Revolution.
- •13.4. The War of Independence and after.
- •Lecture 14 the usa in the first half of the XIX century
- •14.1. The historical outline.
- •14.2. The Civil War in the usa (1861—1865).
- •14.3. The war and its outcome.
- •14.4. Abraham Lincoln, 16th President of the usa.
- •Lecture 15 the reconstruction and after
- •15.2. More development.
- •15.3. Geography and a bit of economy.
- •15.4. Manufacturing of today.
- •Lecture 16 the usa in the XX century
- •16.1. The First World War.
- •16.2 The Great Depression and World War II.
- •16.3. After of the war: international politics.
- •16.4. After of the war: domestic affairs.
- •Lecture 17 the usa after 1950
- •17.1. The civil rights movement: 1950s — 1960s.
- •17.2. The Kennedy Administration and the Vietnam War.
- •17.3. The space programs.
- •17.4. From Reagan to Bush, Jr.
- •Lecture 18 ppolitical system. Parties. Leadership
- •18.1 The us political system.
- •18.2. Main political parties
- •18.3. Main political leaders.
- •18.4. Modern us policy.
- •Lecture 19 social issues, and education and science
- •19.1. Social issues.
- •19.2. Secondary education.
- •19.4. Notes on the development of American science.
- •Lecture 20 mass culture and the concept of americanization
- •20.1. America’s Global Role (political and economic influence)
- •20.2 America’s Global Role.
- •20.3 America’s mass culture.
- •20.4 The usa in the XXI century.
- •20.4.4.
- •Lecture 21 a tour of the english-speaking countries
- •21.1. Sightseeing in the United Kingdom.
- •21.2. Sightseeing in the usa.
- •21.3. The Republic of Ireland and Canada.
- •21.4. Australia and New Zealand.
14.3. The war and its outcome.
14.3.1. On paper, the North possessed overwhelming military superiority over the South. The North had a free population of about 22 million. The South had a population of 9 million, including almost 4 million slaves. The North was a modern industrial power; the South was overwhelmingly rural. Yet the South had advantages as well. To succeed, the South did not have to invade and conquer the North. The South had only to prevent the North from invading and conquering the Confederacy. Improved weapons (most notably rifled muskets that were accurate at more than 300 yards) gave a lethal advantage to entrenched defenders over opponents who attacked them across open ground. Union soldiers did most of the attacking.
14.3.2. But soon the North's advantages began to have an effect. Goods and troops could be moved more quickly along many railroads which the North had. There were nearly 23 million people in the North against about 9 million people in the South. So the North had more people to fight. Northern factories could supply uniforms, guns, bullets and other important things for the army. The South had few factories. And as the war continued, the South had more and more trouble supplying its army. The battle of Gettysburg was the decisive battle of the Civil War. It was a brutal three-day battle. Both sides suffered heavy losses, but the clash was considered a Union victory and a turning point in the American Civil War. The battle marked the last time that the Confederate Army invaded the North. Later President Lincoln went to Gettysburg to dedicate a cemetery for the fallen soldiers. He made a short speech known as the Gettysburg Address.
14.3.3. The Civil War finally established the United States as a nation–state. Americans before the Civil War spoke of the United States as a plural noun. Since the Civil War the United States has been a singular noun (The United States is …). The Founders’ Latin motto E Pluribus Unum (“From many, one”) finally became a reality. The Civil War had long-term economic and social results as well. The war seems to have sped Northern economic development. Northern women saw new possibilities open up during and after the war. In wartime they often took jobs previously done by men on farms and in factories, and thousands served in the Union nursing corps. Post-war women’s political and reform groups were larger and more militant than the groups that preceded them.
14.3.4. Finally and perhaps most importantly, the Civil War was a watershed in the history of African Americans. The war permanently ended slavery. On January 1, 1863, U.S. President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, ordering that all slaves in rebel territory be freed. The Proclamation marked a radical departure in policy, but reflected the overwhelming public sentiment in the North. About 3 million people were freed by the terms of the document, which is regarded as one of the most important state documents of the United States.