英美概况美国部分汇总整编

America

?The Founding of Colonies殖民地的建立

First Inhabitants：American Indians

Discovery of the New World：

1492 Christopher Columbus →the discoverer of America

(Italian)Spanish Queen’ s support

1501-2 Amerigo Vespucci →the new land was name after him as America.

reached the mouth of Amazon River

America—the New World

Europe—the Old World

13 colonies：

New England Colonies: Mid Atlantic Colonies: Southern Colonies:

Massachusetts →（2nd colony，1620）New York Maryland

New Hampshire Pennsylvania Virginia →（1st colony，1607）Rhode Island Delaware North Carolina

Connecticut South Carolina

Georgia →（the last colony，1733）New England Region（6个）: Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New Hampshire, Maine and Vermont

建立原因：

Virginia, 1607

Virginia Company

For foreign expansion as a way of easing religious dispute and economic distress in England

105 men (no women)

Jamestown in honor of the king

Massachusetts In 1620

102 Puritans (“Pilgrim Fathers”), in Mayflower, from Plymouth in England to America

First in Plymouth (today’s Massachusetts); and then Boston

Seek religious freedom

Mayflower Compact <五月花号公约>：self-government

Hardships when arrived

the help of the Indians

Thanksgiving Day to thank the Indians and the God for protection

The next three colonies

Rhode Island, Connecticut, New Hampshire

Reasons:

1. religious disputes and struggles in Massachusetts intensified

2. more immigrants

Maine and Vermont

Reason: Proximity (邻近)

Non-English Colonies

New York, New Jersey were first colonized by the Dutch.

Delaware was founded by the Swedish.

Pennsylvania: Quakers /the Society of Friends (another group of English Protestant) William Penn, the founder

Granted colonies

Maryland granted by Charles I to his friend Lord Baltimore as a refuge for English Catholics. South Carolina and North Carolina given by Charles II to his eight close supporters.

The last colony Georgia

A haven (港口，避难所) for English prisoners of debt who could not discharge their debts.

?The Early Immigrants最初的殖民与殖民生活

White Anglo-Saxon Protestants (WASPs)

Reasons to immigrate:

1. religious disputes （persecute Catholics and Protestants）

2. to become rich in the New World (Protestant work ethic)

3. poor men as indentured servants（契约劳工）

4. convicts

American culture:

A blending of European cultures, but not a mere transplantation.

New values:

1. new ideas and reforms

2. adaptations: less formal and more practical; less conservative and more outspoken

3. industrious

4. elasticity (弹性，灵活性),tolerance, compromise

5. religion as a private affair

6. liberty and democracy

?Boston Tea Party 波士顿倾茶事件

Relation between England and Colonies

Economic: supply England with raw materials while importing goods manufactured in England.

England ←Rival; seven years war (1756-1763) →France

Protection Make use of Indians to attack each other

↓

English colonies in America ←attack →Indians

波士顿倾茶事件

Cause: England allow the East India Company to undersell tea without paying import tax in the colonies.

Place&Time：December 16, 1773, Boston harbor

英国惩罚措施Intolerable Acts：ask to pay tea loss；to deprive self-rule

Result: This policy aroused the colonial opposition and they declared“no taxation without representation”.

?Two Continental Congresses 两次大陆会议

1st Continental Congress

Sept. 5, 1774 in Philadelphia

Delegates from 12 colonies except Georgia

Document: Declaration of Rights and Grievances 《权利和不满宣言》

Rejected by the British Parliament

Colonial militiamen were organized.

The first armed clash （莱克星顿的枪声——导火索）

April 19, 1775; Gunshots at the village Lexington, near Boston

2nd Continental Congress

May 10, 1775 in Philadelphia, Independence Hall

Organize and equip an American army

Appointing George Washington as commander-in-chief

Ask for help from other countries, esp. France

Public support: 1776, Thomas Paine published Common Sense and The American Crisis

?Declaration of Independence独立宣言

During the 2nd Continental Congress

——A committee,(composed of Thomas Jefferson,Benjamin Franklin,John Adam and other members)

To draw up the Declaration of Independence.

It was drafted by Thomas Jefferson on July 4th, 1776(Independence Day / the National Day of the US)

was a milestone in American history.

It is remarkable in that it approaches the problem of American independence from the angle of human rights.

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness; that to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent the governed; that whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, and to institute a new government...”

--- Declaration of Independence, drafted by Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, etc..

来源和评价：

A masterpiece of western philosophy; mainly comes from the British philosopher John Locke

equality and freedom

universal; beyond American boundaries

?Military Struggle and the Final Victory 战争经过和最后胜利

England VS America 战前实力对比

England America

population: 10 m. 3 million

most advanced not developed

strongest navy none

High morale

-- Americans: high morale but repeated setbacks

Difficulties:

1. not every colonist support the revolution: loyalists such as big merchants and bankers

2. the Continental Congress cannot pass laws and it did not have an executive branch to carry out the decisions

3. lack money

4. each colony is more concerned about defending itself than gaining independence as a whole

5. lack the strength to fight against the British army.

Turning point and the victories

1.Surprise attacks游击战

2.Franklin’ s diplomatic activities to obtain foreign aids, such as aids from France, Spain and Holland.

3.French volunteers: e.g. Lafayette

Last victory: Decisive battle at Yorktown led by Washington

On Oct. 19, 1781, British general Cornwallis (康沃利斯) surrendered.

The final peace treaty The Treaty of Paris in 1783 acknowledged the American Independence.

（The final peace treaty was signed in 1782 and went in effect in 1783）

?Constitutional Convention 制宪会议

America Following Independence

new problems

1) how to make use of the new territory

--allow the founding of new states [equality and democracy]

2) not very closely united

--13 separate states rather than a united country

3) economic difficulties

-- trade problem with Britain

--debts because of the Independance War

-- increasing tax and Shays’Rebellion in Massachusetts

The need for a new Government was felt

——May 25,1787,55 delegates from all states except Rhode Island attended the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia. No easy work:

the North vs the South

the upper class vs lower class

state government vs central government

The draft of Constitution--completed on September 17, 1787--Constitutional Day of the US

The Father of the Constitution: James Madison

Bill of Rights(1789): 10 amendments to the Constitution

freedom of religion,

freedom of speech and the press,

the right of peaceful assembly and petition,

the right to keep and bear arms,

the right against unreasonable searches and seizures,

the right against self-incrimination（自证其罪）---the right for everyone to refuse to give witness against himself in any criminal case.

---a defense line against violations of human rights

政治体制见另一张

?Territorial Expansion 领土扩张

Washington as the First President 华盛顿执政期间

April 6, 1789, Washington was elected as the First President by a unanimous vote in New York (provisional capital)

1) success in transforming the states into a union

2) Economy witnessed development

"the first man in war, the first man in peace”

Ways to Expand 四种领土扩张方式

Purchase: Louisiana Purchase, Gadsden Purchase, Alaska Purchase, etc

War: Mexican War, Independence War, Spanish Cessions, etc.

Annexation: Mexican Annexation, Hawaii Annexation, etc.

Westward Movement

Jefferson and the Purchase of Louisiana 杰斐逊执政期间

---third US President in 1801

---emphasized development of agriculture and commerce

---favored the westward expansion

Louisiana Purchase, 1803

其意义：

1.doubled the territory of US and make possible further expansion

2.put the Mississippi River system under the complete control of the US

1) stimulate the agricultural and industrial development of the Midwest

2)appearance of large cities as Chicago and Kansas Cities

The Mexican War (1846-1848 ) 过程

-- America claimed Texas, used to be part of the great Spanish Colony, was included in the purchase of Louisiana.

-- In 1836, self-declaration of independence of Texas with many American Settlers from Mexico

-- 1846, The Mexican War broke but finally an unequal treaty was forced on Mexico.

?Westward Movement 西进运动

Expansion to the west (end of 18th- first half of 19th century)

reason to move:

1.small for increased population

2.not satisfied with the present life

3.American frontiersmen 拓荒者

The most outstanding of all the westward migration took place after the war of 1812,there were many

contributing factors:

--the war 1812 drove the native Indians

--the Federal government built roads and canals

-- The Mississippi River opened and steam boat was invented in 1807.

-- government policy: land for sale

--the Homestead Act 宅地法（1862 President Lincoln)

Cities:San Francisco,Portland,Denver

The significance and importance西进运动的重要性和影响

-- Frontiersmen's Influence

Positive:

on Politics：

---Frontiersmen as presidents; Jackson, Lincoln and Grant

Expanded territory and increased population laid the foundation for a global power.

On Economics

fast development of agriculture

food surplus for trade

contribution to industrialization

On transportation and urbanization

On American character and value

---dash and daring, ready to run risks and aggressive

---learn many skills and self-reliance, self-discipline

---farmers and hunters , poor lower class; so not pay attention to social background

---hard work: "work freaks", and "work addicts"

---rough , pragmatic and less refined , honest

Negative: Trail of Tears of Indians

?The beginning of Slavery in America 美国奴隶制起源

Reason: labor shortage in the colonies

Time: first in 1619 to plant tobacco

Method: the triangular trade :carried out by the slave traders mainly from the New England by capturing Negros in west

Africa

development and change:

-- declined after Independence War

-- revived when the American Industrial Revolution began in late 18th century.

-- By 1860, 3 million Negro slaves; 1/3 of the Southern population

?American Civil War 南北战争/美国内战

Conflicts arising from Slavery

Reasons：

-- Economically,north demanded the Congress to pass the protective tariff law

--Politically,westward expansion: new land as free states or slave-holding states?

--Religious and moral reason:slavery as inhuman and brutal

Development of the conflict

1) abolitionists: to end slavery

---secret organization to help slaves escape

---mobilize public support

2)the publication of Uncle Tom's Cabin (1852 Mrs. Stowe)

（led to the outbreak of the American civil war一个小妇人的一部小书引起了一场战争）

总结：Civil War爆发的原因：

1.Political balance between the North and the South was broken

2.Slavery inhibited the development of capitalism

3.Some Christians opposed slavery for religious and moral reasons.

Abraham Lincoln

a Republican; anti -slavery

On March 4, 1861 President Lincoln

Firm in preserving the Union

Military Contest in the Civil War

2 sides : the Confederate States of America (Confederacy) led by Davis and the Union led by Abraham Lincoln Attack On April 12, 1861 led by Fort Sumter, South Carolina

Lincoln's goal: to defend the Union and defeat separatism分离论

North South

advantages: advantages:

---larger population ---strong military tradition

---loyal Navy ---experienced military officers

---factories for munition production ---high morale

---enough food supply

disadvantages: disadvantages:

---poorly prepared ---smaller population

---inexperienced soldiers ---not enough food supply

The year 1863 was a turning point when the blockade stopped all foreign trade of the South.

In July 1863, a great victory of the North in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.

Emancipation Proclamation, effective on Jan. 1, 1863

Lincoln's Gettysburg Address: government of the people, by the people, for the people. 民有,民治,民享

The Suffering of the South:

men were killed, cities leveled to the ground, crops destroyed

The Union win the Final Victory

April 2, 1865, Appomattox; Ulysses Grant (Union)vs. Robert Lee (Confederate)

Effect of the Civil War

Finally put an end to slavery

but not really carried out

Ku Klux Klan (3K党)：secret organization to threaten the black people.

Economic development:

Henry Ford in 1908

Wright Brothers in 1903

Telephone by Bill in 1876

The lamp and motion picture by Thomas Edison

Monopolies 垄断公司

The Standard Oil Company ,founded by John D. Rockefeller in 1870

The United States Steel Corporation by Andrew Carnegie

The Bell telephone system

?America in and after WWI一战中和一战后的美国

America before WWI (1914-1918)

in the West: Latin America and the Caribbean were the backyard of it.

In the East, the US advocated the Open Door Policy to guarantee its trade access.

Military Blocs：

Triple Alliance / Central Powers：Allied Entente：

Germany Britain

Austria-Hungary France

Italy（后加入Allied Entente）Russia

America (1917) On April 6,1917,the United States declared war on Germany

Reasons of America to Join War

German submarines sank American ships

fear of Americans interests（huge loans made to Britain）

Germany induced Mexico to war against America

After WWI

Peace Conference in Paris in 1919

the US president, Woodrow Wilson, put forward the Fourteen Points Plan, hoping to establish a new world order based on American values and ideals.

Fourteen Points Plan unaccepted.The Americans shifted to isolationism.

The Treaty of Versailles （American opposed to)

The Roaring 20s("the jazz age")

特点：

Peaceful and prosperous

"the jazz age"

material consumption

spiritual frustration

Industrial Boom

Based on science and technology

Mass production by assembly lines（car,movie,radio,chemical industries）

Social Life: Womanhood as an Example

first wave of Feminist Movement for political and economic rights

women's vote right was granted with the 19th amendment to the Constitution in 1920

New Woman Image: job, bobbed hair, short skirts, lavish cosmetics, smoking and beauty contests

American Values Corrupted by Materialism

The Prohibition Law in 1919

Spiritual Frustration: the Lost Generation

lost American writers

discontent with the existing social reality, but they did not know what to do about it.

"eat, drink, and be happy for tomorrow we shall die"

?The Great Depression 经济大萧条

Mark标志: New York stock market crash on October 24, 1929

[The bear market; “the black Thursday”]

Results：Bankruptcy

Shortage of money/ poverty

Sharply reduced industrial production

Stricken agriculture

Unemployment

Homelessness: Many people had to live in dug-outs or tin-can shacks which were nicknamed Hoovervilles, a word derived from the name of President Hoover.

Emigration

Franklin Roosevelt: a light in the darkness 罗斯福介绍

Roosevelt selected as president in 1932.

Family background: rich family

Education background: Harvard Uni.

Health: polio at 40; can't walk normally

President Roosevelt's “New Deal”罗斯福新政

---presented to Congress more than 70 bills for approval, known as “New Deal”[新政]

---1st: to pass the Emergency Banking Act

---to enlarge employment and increase consumption

---public projects: infrastructure

---to raise the price of farm products

etc.

Roosevelt's "Fireside Chat" 炉边谈话

first "chat" on the radio to ask for confidence in the government and to return gold and money so as to reopen them.

30 chats during the depression and the coming WWII.

warmed, cheered, united people at that time

Significance of New Deal 新政的重要性/影响

---Roosevelt achieved some success in revitalizing American economy.

---His New Deal strengthened the government regulation of economic activities and initiated the social welfare system in the United States.

?America in and after WWⅡ

二战背景Background：The spread of Great Depression: Germany was the worst hit; led to Hitler’s fascist expansion. Time：Sept. 1939

Mark: Germany’s invasion of Poland

各国不同立场：

---Russia-German nonaggression pact signed in Moscow in 1939

---England and France: first, appeasement and nonintervention policy [by Munich Agreement], by selling other lands for peace [e.g. Sudetenland in Czech]; later, declared war on Germany when German army drove into France.

Changes of US Stance：

--- Neutrality from 1935-1937: 3 neutrality acts

--- Pro-Ally policy from 1939: sell arms and munitions to belligerents on a “cash-and-carry”basis.

--- Getting prepared for war from 1940 due to the deteriorated situation: the Roman-Berlin Axis [fascist military bloc]

---Contribution to the war from 1941: Lend-Lease Bill [clever invention of Roosevelt]: any qualified countries could borrow or rent American weapons ---America is“the great arsenal of democracy”

--- Entry into the war on Dec. 8, 1941: Japan’s air raid on Pearl Harbor

America in the War：

War-time economy

Concentrated on the battlefields in Europe

Several million American soldiers

诺曼底登陆（D-Day)：

June 6, 1944, known as D-day, the first contingents of American and British invasion army landed on the beaches of Normandy, opening the long-delayed western front to attack the Germans.

Surrender of Japan 日本投降

On August 6 and 9, 1945, American aircraft dropped two atom bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan, killing nearly 200,000 people. On August 14, Japan surrendered unconditionally and the WWII ended.

America after the War

-- Became a creditor nation

-- Unemployment disappeared

-- Dominant industrial production in the world and robust GDP

-- Export monopoly in the world market

-- Personal wealth accumulation and growing domestic market

A rising superpower and world leader

?Cold War and America in the 21st Century

Cold War (1945-1989)

Cold war: the international tension, conflicts and containment without bloody hot war between Soviet Union and the U.S. Duration: end of WWII to the collapse of Berlin Wall in 1989

Hot-spots热点地带：

---Southern and Western Europe and Truman Doctrine, Marshall Plan;

---Berlin Wall

---Korean War

---Vietnam War

---Cuban Missile Crisis

The Truman Doctrine and the Marshall Plan 杜鲁门主义和马歇尔计划

Stage 1：In Feb. 1947, Britain would end the economical support of Greece and Turkey, which would fall into the hands of the Soviet Union. America decided to help the two countries.

Stage 2：The Truman Doctrine: President Truman’s speech to the Congress in Feb. 1949: the U.S. government would support any country which said it was fighting against Socialism.[real purpose]

Stage 3：The worsening economic situation in Western Europe, coupled with a severe cold and snowstorm: might turn Communist

Stage 4:The Marshall Plan (1947-1952): offer economic aid to Western economy; announced by Secretary of State (美国国务卿) George Marshall on June 5, 1947; $ 13 billion

Berlin Wall

Soviet Union: block the West Berlin in June, 1948

The U.S. : Airlift for food supplies

Soviet Union: Lifted the blockade in May, 1949.

The foundation of NATO later

Vietnam War (1955-1975)

After 1970s

In 1980s, Reagan Revolution; Economic policy to counter against the inflation in 1970s:

George Bush: Gulf War海湾战争

Bill Clinton: Whitewater affair; Lewinsky Scandal

America in the 21st Century: terrorism and anti-terrorism

George W. Bush: Sept. 11th, Afghanistan War; Iraqi War

Barack Obama: new terrorism

American Political System美国政治体制：（Overview）

The American Constitution

---significance

founded federalism and introduced checks and balances（三权分立）into government for the first time in history

—Based on division of power

↓

1.The First division of power

-- federal government

problems of general concern e.g.to coin money, regulate commerce, raise an army and declare war, to make peace and treaties, levy taxes (征税)

-- state government

All the powers not listed in the Constitution to pass state laws

2.The Second division of power: check and balance system

---three separate yet interdependent branches:

The Executive (administration): president

The Legislative : the Congress

The Judicial: the Supreme Court, 11 courts of appeals and 91 district courts

1)The Legislative : the Congress(535人)

---the House of Representatives(435人,任期两年): in proportion to population

---the Senate(100人,任期六年,三分之一的参议院席位每两年选举一次):2 Senators of each state

the Congress : make laws, levy taxes and money to cover government expenditure

2)The Executive: Administration Headed by President

总统任期四年，可连任一届

the power of the President:

to execute the law passed by theCongress

to sign the act passed by Congress into law

to veto the bill passed by the Congress

to appoint Federal Judges and Federal officials with the approval of the Senate

in charge of the foreign policy

Cannot dissolve Congress while Congress cannot remove the President from office so long as he behaves well.

总统选举——选举人团制度

“胜者全得”制度（the winner-take-all System），即把本州的选举人票全部给予在该州获得相对多数普选票的总统候选人。

3)The Judicial

composed of a series of law courts；

the Supreme Court

11 courts of appeals 上诉法院

91 district courts （美国每个地区的）联邦地方法院

—3 branches are balanced against each other: to limit each other’ s power; but not efficient sometimes

Geography and People in America 美国地理和人文

National Flag：the Star-Spangled Banner 星条旗（13个条纹，50颗星）

National anthem：the Star-Spangled Banner 《星条旗永不落》

Name：

The United States of America

the United States, the US, the USA or America.

Location：

North：Canada & Alaska（国内）

South：Mexico & The Gulf of Mexico

West：Pacific Ocean & Hawaii（国内）

East：Atlantic Ocean

Area: 9.4 million sq. km.; 4th largest

east to west: 5000 kilometers

south to north: 2500 kilometers

coastline: 20,000 kilometers

Geographical Features 地理

Three basic areas:

The Atlantic Seacoast and the Appalachian Mountains

The Great Mississippi River Basin

The Rockies west to the Pacific Ocean

The Atlantic Seacoast and the Appalachian Mountains：

1/6 of the continental America

about 3000 km long mountain range and lower than 800 m.

Rich soil for farms and harbors for trade

The Great Plains in the middle：

1/3 of the continental American land

Mississippi: longest in North America

3780 kilometers

“Father of Waters”or “Old Man River”

“Barn of America”

The West：

Rockies: The backbone of the continent

From Canada through America to Mexico and further south

To the west of it: Sierra Nevada Mountains and Cascade Mountains

Geological: national parks: Yellowstone, The National Grand Canyon Park, etc.

Valleys: Death Valley: lowest and hottest

The Great Central Valley in California

Six Regions：New England，the Mid-Atlantic States，the South，the Midwest，the Southwest and the West

Rivers and Lakes of the United States 美国河流山脉湖泊

Mississippi: 6400 km; the largest

Missouri River: Head-stream of Mississippi

Ohio River: American Ruhr 美国的鲁尔河

Potomac 波多马克河: Washington D.C.; division of South and North

Hudson River: New York City

The Great Lakes 五大湖

HOMES

H: Lake Huron

O: Lake Ontario

M: Lake Michigan: the only one that is entirely in America

E: Lake Erie

S: Lake Superior

Niagara Falls

Mountain ranges：Appalachian Mountains, Rockies

Major Cities and Scenic Spots in America 主要城市

Over 10,000 cities

50 metropolitan cities with a population of over a million people

Cities:

-- New York City

1.New York City is the largest city and seaport in America.

It is in New York State and it mainly lies on Manhattan Island, which is situated in the estuary of the Hudson River 5 Boroughs：Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens, Staten Island

3 Islands：Manhattan Island, Long Island, Staten Island

2. Landmarks in NY: -- Boston

The Fifth Avenue: shopping center State capital of Massachusetts

Broadway: theatrical center Almost the oldest city in America

Wall Street: financial center Education center: 47 degree-granting institutions: MIT and Harvard The Statue of Liberty Cradle of American liberty: Boston Tea Party

-- Philadelphia -- Washington D. C

“America's Athens”The Capital of America

Independence Hall D.C.: District of Columbia

On the Potomac River

-- San Francisco The White House,白宫

In California The Capitol,国会大厦

Golden Gate Bridge The Pentagon五角大楼

China Town

-- Los Angeles -- Chicago

In California The 3rd largest city in America

The 2nd largest city in America In Illinois, “the Windy City”

Pleasant weather and beautiful scenery Borders on Lake Michigan

Film-making: Hollywood Most important industrial and commercial city in the Middle West

Sears Tower: used to the highest building in the world

--The People of America

American Population

China 1st 1.3 billion

India 2nd 1.29 billion

America 3rd314 million

The West: not dense

Great Plains: not dense

The South: over 100 m

Northeastern: most densely

Distribution of People

Urban

6 most densely populated states or area: New England (an area), Illinois, Michigan, Indiana, Wisconsin and Ohio Middle west and the Plain: sparse

Western: thin population

History of Immigration

1830s-1840s: Northern Europeans

1890s: Southern and Eastern Europeans

Immigration Act of 1924: restriction, esp. Europeans

Immigration and Nationality Act Amendments in 1965: equal chance to immigrate

A nation of immigrants “Melting Pot”“Salad Bowl”