- •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.
15.3. Geography and a bit of economy.
15.3.1. The territory of the United States is historically divided into eight regions: New England; the Mid-Atlantic region; the South; the Midwest; the Southwest; the Rocky Mountain region; the Pacific Northwest and Alaska; California and Hawaii.
New England is highly industrial, but it also has many fields, woods and small towns. New England is the part of the United States that is most like "old" England. It includes six states: Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut. The main city of this region is Boston.
15.3.2. The Mid-Atlantic region plays an important role in the United States. Its cities include Washington D.C, the nation's capital, and New York City, the nation's financial centre, and Philadelphia. The Mid-Atlantic region is densely populated. It includes six states: New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland and West Virginia.
Economically, historically and culturally, the South is a distinct region. With its warm climate and rich soil, it developed an economy based on cotton export. The South includes eleven states: Kentucky, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia and Florida. The main cities of the region are Miami and New Orleans.
15.3.3. The Midwest is a large, economically important region. It contains major industrial cities and much farmland. Geographically, the Midwest can be subdivided into three smaller regions: the Great Lakes area with many lakes, hills and forests; the prairie area south of it, which is flat and has good soil for farming; the Great Plains area to the west, much drier than the prairie. The Midwest includes twelve states: Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota and North Dakota. The main cities of the region are Detroit and Chicago. The Southwest area, rich in minerals, includes five states: Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and Nevada.
15.3.4. The Rocky Mountain Region is very sparsely populated. Most of the population is engaged in mining, cattle-breeding and farming. The Rocky Mountain region includes five states: Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, Utah and Colorado.
The Pacific Northwest and Alaska region is noted for its natural beauty: high steep mountains, forests and greatly indented coastlines. Portland and Seattle are important ports for trade with Asia. This region includes three states: Washington, Oregon and Alaska.
California and Hawaii states are grouped together mainly because they are relatively near each other: California is the state which is situated nearer to Hawaii than any other state. They are not alike: California is one of the largest and most populated states, the biggest cities of which are San Francisco and Los Angeles. Hawaii is one of the smallest and least populated ones. Yet there is one thing these two states have in common: lots of sun and sand.