- •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.
12.3. The beginning of Puritan America.
12.3.1. English migrants came to America for two main reasons. The first reason was tied to the English Reformation. Through a series of political and religious twists and turns, the new Church of England developed a Protestant theology. Within the Church of England appeared a new brunch representatives of which were called Puritans. Puritans became willing to immigrate to America. The second reason for English colonization was that land in England had become scarce. The population of England doubled from 1530 to 1680. The result was a growing number of young, poor, underemployed, and often desperate English men and women. It was from their ranks that colonizers recruited most of the English population of the mainland colonies.
12.3.2. New England began as a refuge for religious radicals. The first English settlers were the Pilgrims. They sailed for the New World in 1620 on the ship Mayflower. After difficult early years, they established a community of farms at Plymouth that was ultimately absorbed by the Massachusetts Bay Company. But the Pilgrim Fathers, who established their colony at Plymouth in 1620 were not trained and prepared to cope with life on the new continent in the wilderness. The climate is very harsh. During their first winter the Pilgrims suffered very much. Hard work, diseases, bitterly cold weather, bad food killed about half of them.
12.3.3. On a spring morning in 1621 an Indian walked into the little village of Plymouth. He introduced himself in a friendly way and offered help. They gave food and gifts to the Pilgrims. The Indians did much to help the white settlers: they taught them how to hunt in the new country, to fish, grow crops which they had never seen before. They showed the Pilgrims how to use fish for fertilizer when growing corn, pumpkins and beans. This help was very important and because of it the Pilgrims raised good crops and had a good harvest. Governor William Bradford, who was the first elected governor in Plymouth, decided to follow an old tradition in the autumn of 1621. On that day the Pilgrims decided to thank God for his kindness to them. That was the beginning of celebrating Thanksgiving Day.
12.3.4. The king of England granted a charter to the Massachusetts Bay Company, a group of businessmen interested in trade in the colony. Puritans soon dominated the company. The community grew into a town later renamed Boston. The port dominated the West Indian shipping business. By 1700 it was the third busiest port of the British Empire and the leading seaport for trade with the British American colonies. Boston was an educational forerunner, as the city established the first free public school in 1635 and the first public library in 1653. Boston has continued to be a leader in education with more than 65 colleges and universities in the metropolitan area. Boston’s cultural heritage also includes American literature. Essayists Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau, and novelists Harriet Beecher Stowe and Nathaniel Hawthorne all lived there. Boston has a rich cultural life, too.