america and its history and culture

English Online Study 2014©

UNITED STATES OF

AMERICA


The Pilgrims landing on Plymouth Rock, December 1620

European nations came to the Americas to increase their wealth and broaden their influence over world affairs. The Spanish were among the first Europeans to explore the New World and the first to settle in what is now the United States.

By 1650, however, England had established a dominant presence on the Atlantic coast.

The first colony was founded at Jamestown, Virginia, in 1607. Many of the people who settled in the New World came to escape religious persecution.

The Pilgrims, founders of Plymouth, Massachusetts, arrived in 1620. In both Virginia and Massachusetts, the colonists flourished with some assistance from Native Americans.

New World grains such as corn kept the colonists from starving while, in Virginia, tobacco provided a valuable cash crop.

By the early 1700s enslaved Africans made up a growing percentage of the colonial population.

By 1770, more than 2 million people lived and worked in Great Britain's 13 North American colonies.

BACK IN TIME...


"That's one small step for man... and one giant leap for mankind," said Neil Armstrong as he walked on the moon, July 20, 1969

A depiction of the storming of San Juan Hill from the Spanish-American War

British general Burgoyne's surrender at Saratoga in the American Revolution

TIME LINE HISTORY OF AMERICA

http://www.americaslibrary.gov/jb/modern/jb_modern_subj_e.html

http://www.americaslibrary.gov/jb/modern/jb_modern_subj_e.html


The Declaration of IndependenceThe Declaration of Independence is one of the most important documents in the history of the United States. It represents the official first step toward the separation of the 13 colonies from the control of Great Britain. The document was written by Thomas Jefferson in seventeen days, during the Second Continental Congress.

Although the Declaration of Independence was not officially signed until August 1, 1776, Congress voted to approve the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. This is why we celebrate July 4th as Independence Day.

The Declaration of IndependenceA Transcription

IN CONGRESS, July 4, 1776.

The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America,

When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

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 of 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 new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.--Such has been the patient sufferance of these


Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.

• He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.

• He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.

• He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.

• He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.

• He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.

• He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected; whereby the Legislative powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.

• He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.

• He has obstructed the Administration of Justice, by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary powers.

• He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.

• He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harrass our people, and eat out their substance.

• He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.


• He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil power.

• He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:

• For Quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:• For protecting them, by a mock Trial, from punishment for any Murders

which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:• For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:• For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:• For depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of Trial by Jury:• For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences• For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province,

establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies:

• For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws, and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:

• For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.

• He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.

• He has plundered our seas, ravaged our Coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.

• He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.

• He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.

• He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages, whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.

In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.


Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our Brittish brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which, would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.

We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States; that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.


The Constitution of the United StatesAfter the American Revolution the states were functioning under the Articles of Confederation. As time passed it became clear that changes to this system had to be made. A convention of delegates from all the states except Rhode Island met in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in May of 1787. George Washington was chosen president of the convention. By the end of the month it was decided that the best solution to the young country's problems was to set aside the Articles of Confederation and write a new constitution. This was not an easy chore. Three months later and after a lot of debate and compromise, on September 17, 1787, the Constitution of the United States was finally accepted by the delegates. But their work was not done.

The Founding Fathers now had to get all the states to agree that this was a good document and that they should vote in favor of it. This was the first great political question that faced Americans. Nine states had to vote for the Constitution for it to be accepted. On December 3, 1787, Delaware was the first state to vote in favor of (ratify) it. New Hampshire became the ninth state to accept the Constitution on June 21, 1788, ending government under the Articles of Confederation. It was not until May 29, 1790 that the last state, Rhode Island, finally accepted the Constitution.


The Gettysburg AddressThe Gettysburg Address was delivered by President Abraham Lincoln, on November 19, 1863, at the dedication of the National Cemetery at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, the site of one of the bloodiest battles of the American Civil War (July, 1863). The text of the speech is as follows:

"Fourscore and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation, conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.

Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation or any nation so conceived and so dedicated can long endure. We are met on a great battlefield of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field as a final resting-place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.

But in a larger sense, we cannot dedicate, we cannot consecrate, we cannot hallow this ground. The brave men, living and dead who struggled here have consecrated it far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living rather to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us--that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion--that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain, that this nation under God shall have a new birth of freedom, and that government of the people, by the people, for the people shall not perish from the earth."

-- Abraham LincolnNovember 19, 1863


Our Nation

The United States of America is located on the continent of North America. There are 50 states in the U.S. Forty-eight of the states form the contiguous United States. The U.S. borders on Canada to the north, and Mexico and the Gulf of Mexico to the south. On the east coast, the U.S. is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean, and on the west coast it is bordered by the Pacific Ocean.

To the northwest of Canada is the state of Alaska. The state of Hawaii is located in the Pacific Ocean, southwest of California.

In addition to the 50 states, the U.S. has several territories and possessions, located in the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean.


Quick Facts:The United States of America

Capital City:Washington, D.C.National Independence:July 4, 1776

Motto:In God We Trust

Largest Cities:New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Houston, Philadelphia, Phoenix, San Antonio, San Diego, Dallas, San JoseBorder Countries and Oceans:Canada, Mexico, Atlantic Ocean, Gulf of Mexico, Pacific Ocean

Population:298,444,215 (July 2006 est.)

Land Area:3,615,123 sq. mi. (9,375,720 sq. km.)

Highest Point:Mt. McKinley, Alaska, 20,320 ft. (6194 m.) above sea level

Lowest Point:Death Valley, California, 282 ft (86 m.) below sea level

Largest State:Alaska

Smallest State:Rhode Island

National Bird:Bald Eagle

National Flower:Rose

National Anthem:The Star-Spangled Banner


Our Capital City

New York City was the first capital of the United States. George Washington took the oath of office from the balcony of New York City's old City Hall to become the first President of the United States.

The President had to help decide on a permanent location for the country’s seat of government. As part of a compromise, it was decided that the capital would move to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1791 for ten years and then to a suitable permanent location on the Potomac River.

President Washington chose an area that included land from the states of Maryland and Virginia. At this time the area was primarily farm and marsh lands. Nevertheless, Congress was scheduled to meet in the new capital on the first Monday in December 1800.

The capital city is named Washington after George Washington, our first president. It is located in the District of Columbia, named after Christopher Columbus, a famous explorer.


Quick Facts: Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C. is neither a state nor territory, but has a government that resembles both.

Capital City:Washington, D.C. is the capital of the United States of America

Motto:Justitia Omnibus (Justice for all)

Origin ofDistrict's Name:Named after George Washington and Christopher Columbus.

Location:Between Virginia and Maryland on the Potomac River

Land Area:68 sq. mi.

District's Bird:Wood Thrush

District's Flower:American Beauty Rose

District's Song:The Star-Spangled Banner

District's Tree:Scarlet Oak


SYMBOLS OF THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT

The Flag

The U.S. flag has undergone many changes since the first official flag of 1777. On June 14, 1777, the Continental Congress passed the first Flag Act, which said that the flag would be made up of thirteen alternating red and white stripes and thirteen white stars on a blue field. Stars have been added to the flag as new states join the union. Currently, the flag contains 50 stars.

Ever wonder why the flag is red, white, and blue? While the flag's colors did not have a specific meaning at the time, the colors were significant for the Great Seal of 1782.

• White: Signifies purity and innocence• Red: Signifies valor and bravery• Blue: Signifies Vigilance, perseverance, and

justiceWhy stars and stripes? Stars are considered a symbol of the heavens and the divine goal to which man has aspired from time immemorial; the stripe is symbolic of the rays of light emanating from the sun.


The Bald EagleThe bald eagle is a large, powerful, brown bird with a white head and tail. The term "bald" does not mean that this bird lacks feathers. Instead, it comes from the word piebald, an old word, meaning "marked with white."

The bald eagle was made the national bird of the United States in 1782. The image of the bald eagle can be found in many places in the U.S., such as on the Great Seal, Federal agency seals, the President's flag, and on the one-dollar bill.

Why was the bald eagle chosen as our national symbol?

The Founding Fathers wanted to choose an animal that was unique to the United States. For six years, the members of Congress engaged in a dispute over what the national emblem should be. As a result of the debate, the bald eagle was chosen because it symbolized strength, courage, freedom, and immortality and that it would look much better as our national symbol.

When Europeans first arrived on the North American continent in the 1600's, there were an estimated 25,000 to 50,000 bald eagles, but populations have since dropped for many reasons. Many eagles were captured for getting too close to poultry or fishing nets; some were captured for falconry; and many eagles were poisoned by pesticides. In 1967, the bald eagle was included on the Endangered Species List. Federal laws, such as the Bald Eagle Protection Act, protect the bald eagle and have led to the recovery of bald eagle populations. In 2007, populations have improved and the the bald eagle was removed from the list.


The Liberty BellCast in London, England in 1752, the Liberty Bell rang when the Continental Congress signed the Declaration of Independence and has become the symbol of freedom in the United States. The bell weighs about 2000 pounds and is made mostly of copper (70%) and tin (25%).

Made for the Pennsylvania State House (now Independence Hall), the Liberty Bell was ordered by the Pennsylvania Assembly in 1751 to commemorate the 50-year anniversary of William Penn's 1701 Charter of Privileges. Shortly after its arrival in Philadelphia the Bell cracked. Local craftsmen recast the bell using the metal from the old bell, but this one also proved defective. A third was cast by John Pass and John Stowe. Their names appear on the bell, along with the city and date, along with this inscription:

"Proclaim liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof - Lev. XXV, v. x. By order of the Assembly of the Province of Pensylvania [sic] for the State House in Philada.

NOTE: The spelling of "Pennsylvania" was not at that time universally adopted. Pensylvania was an accepted alternative spelling throughout the 1700's.

On June 7, 1753, the bell was hung in the tower of Independence Hall; however, during the American Revolution, in 1777, British troops captured Philadelphia. For safekeeping, the bell was moved to Zion's Reformed Church in Allentown, Pennsylvania. It was returned to Philadelphia in 1778.

As tradition, the bell was rung on every July 4th and on every state occasion until 1846. Not everyone agrees on when the first crack appeared on the Liberty Bell, but by 1846 a thin crack began to affect the sound of the bell. It was repaired so the bell could be tolled for Washington's birthday on February 23, 1846. In order to repair the bell, a slot was carved along the length of the crack that prevented the two sides of the bell from vibrating against each other. Two rivets were inserted in this slot to control the vibration of the two sides and restored the bell's tonal quality.

Today, the Liberty Bell hangs in Philadelphia at the Liberty Bell Pavilion on Market Street for all to see and is still gently rung each July 4th.


Uncle Sam

Uncle Sam, a figure symbolizing the United States, is portrayed as a tall, white-haired man with a goatee. He is often dressed in red, white, and blue, and wears a top hat.

The exact origins of Uncle Sam as a symbol for the United States are unknown. But the most widely accepted theory is that Uncle Sam was named after Samuel Wilson.

During the War of 1812, Samuel Wilson was a businessman from Troy, NY that supplied the U.S. Army with beef in barrels. The barrels were labeled "U.S." When asked what the initials stood for, one of Wilson's workers said it stood for Uncle Sam Wilson. The suggestion that the meat shipments came from "Uncle Sam" led to the idea that Uncle Sam symbolized the Federal Government and association stuck. In 1961, Congress passed a resolution that recognized Samuel Wilson as the inspiration for the symbol Uncle Sam.

But Sam Wilson looked nothing like the Uncle Sam pictured above. Uncle Sam's traditional appearance, with a white goatee and star-spangled suit, is an invention of artists and political cartoonists. One of these political cartoonists was named Thomas Nast. Nast produced many of the earliest cartoons of Uncle Sam.

The most famous picture of Uncle Sam appeared on an Army recruiting poster. The poster was designed in World War I, and was used again in World War II. The caption reads "I Want You for U.S. Army." James Montgomery Flagg drew this picture, and served as the model too!


National Floral Emblem - The Rose

The rose, said to be about 35 million years old, has been used as a symbol of love, beauty, war, and politics throughout the world. The flowers are generally red, pink, white, or yellow and grow naturally throughout North America. The rose became the official flower of the United States in 1986.

In October 1985, the Senate passed a resolution that declared the rose as the National Floral Emblem of the United States. Senate Joint Resolution 159 was passed by the House of Representatives on September 23, 1986.

The resolution asked the president to issue a proclamation declaring the rose as the national flower. A proclamation announces an act by the government and does not have the effect of law.

President Reagan signed the resolution on October 7, 1986 in a ceremony in the White House Rose Garden. On November 20, 1986, President Reagan issued Proclamation 5574: The National Floral Emblem of the United States of America: The Rose.

Did you know?

• Our first President, George Washington, bred roses, and a variety he named after his mother is still grown today.


GlossaryPlease note: The definitions provided in this glossary relate to the words as they are used on Ben's Guide. There may be other definitions for these words.

amend -- To change the wording or meaning of a motion, bill, constitution, etc. by formal procedure. For example, Congress may amend the Constitution.

alien -- A resident of another country who has not yet become a citizen of the country where s/he now lives.

American Revolution -- The struggle by which the United States won independence from Great Britain (1775-1783).

Articles of Confederation -- The first constitution of the 13 American states, adopted in 1781 and later replaced in 1787 by the Constitution of the United States.

bas-relief -- A three-dimensional sculpture in which the figures project slightly from the background. Also called low relief.

census -- A periodic, official count of the number of persons living in a country.

checks and balances -- Limits imposed on all branches of government by giving each the right to amend acts of the other branches.

citizen -- A member of a state or nation who owes allegiance to its government and is entitled to its protection.

congressional district -- A division or part of a state; each district elects one person to the House of Representatives.

constituent -- A person who is represented by an elected official.

Constitution -- The document which establishes the basic principles of the American government.

delegate -- A person who acts for or represents another or others.

http://bensguide.gpo.gov/3-5/glossary.html%23Fathers





Emancipation Proclamation -- An order issued during the Civil War by President Lincoln ending slavery in the Confederate states.

Founding Fathers -- The delegates to the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia in 1787.

hasty pudding -- A baked dish made mostly of cornmeal, milk, and molasses. It's not pudding like Jell-O pudding, it's more of a mush. At the time, pudding was the term used for the dessert course of a meal.

House of Representatives -- One house of the U.S. Congress, members are granted to each state based upon its population.

immigrant -- A person who moves from one country to another to live permanently.

macaroni -- A fancy and overdressed ("dandy") style of Italian clothing widely imitated in England at the time. When Yankee Doodle stuck a feather in his cap and called himself a "Macaroni", he was proudly proclaiming himself to be a country bumpkin (an awkward and unsophisticated person), because that was how the English regarded most colonials at that time.

national -- A citizen of a nation who is entitled to its protection.

obelisk -- An upright 4-sided usually monolithic pillar that gradually tapers as it rises and terminates in a pyramid.

sentinel -- A soldier stationed as a guard to challenge all comers and prevent a surprise attack.

separation of powers -- The system of dividing the powers and duties of a government into different branches.

valor -- Boldness or bravery in facing great danger, especially in battle.

veto -- To cancel or postpone a decision, bill, etc. For example, the president of the United States may veto a bill that has been passed by Congress.

america and its history and culture

Documents