- •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.
11.4. The American "melting pot of nations".
11.4.1. The poet Walt Whitman said that the United States "is not merely a nation, but a nation of nations". The first people came to America from Asia, and they crossed the Bering Strait from Siberia to Alaska when the sea level dropped. These were the people whom Columbus later called "Indians" because he was sure that he had come to the East Indies. Today there are about 1,5 million Native Americans in the United States, most of them live in the Western states — California, Oklahoma, Arizona and New Mexico. About one-third of the Native Americans live in reservations, the land that was given them by the government.
11.4.2. Between 1620 and 1820 very large groups of people came to the United States not as willing immigrants, but against their will. These black people were from West Africa. Today about 12 percent of America's population is Afro-American. The dialectal differences allow their language to be called by a different name – Ebonics. In the 1820's many people in Europe, suffering from poverty, war and discrimination began to migrate to the United States. During the first half-century, most immigrants came from the countries of north-western Europe — Germany, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Sweden and Norway. Later, many immigrants came to the United States from Italy, Greece, Poland and Russia.
11.4.3. There are many Spanish-speaking people who live in the USA. Some of them had lived in the areas which were under Spanish control, and found themselves living in the United States when these areas became part of the United States (for example California and New Mexico). Many other Hispanics immigrated to the United States from many different countries, mostly from Mexico, Puerto Rico and Cuba. Many immigrants came to the United States from different Asian countries (China, Japan, the Philippines, Korea, Vietnam, India and others). They have settled mostly in California, Hawaii, New York and Texas. New York is particularly famous for its multi-cultural looks. On Manhattan, one can find such diverse ethnic neighborhoods as Chinatown, Little Italy, the Jewish Lower East Side, the Brighton Beach area, Harlem, and Spanish Harlem.
11.4.4. Both British English and American English have a common origin. As the time went some words became out-dated in Britain, while they were still used in American English. The most famous of all American dictionary-makers, Noah Webster was as influential in the history of American English as George Washington in the American Revolution. His monumental American Dictionary of the English Language is a real landmark in American history. Webster's influence on American spelling was enormous. Webster's dictionaries had a great influence on American speech rhythms and resulted in the remarkable uniformity of much American speech. There are some curious linguistic phenomena observed in American English. One of them is the so-called "political correctness". The term describes language, ideas, policies, or behavior seen as seeking to minimize offense to racial, cultural, or other identity groups. In the US, the ideas of political correctness are quite popular.