Inhoudsopgave
1. Introduction......................................................................................................................................................4
1.1. The country...............................................................................................................................................4
1.1.1. Geography.............................................................................................................................................4
1.1.2. Symbols................................................................................................................................................12
2. Native Americans..................................................................................................................................... 19
2.1. The First Americans.....................................................................................................................................19
2.1.1. Tribes...................................................................................................................................................19
2.1.2. Society......................................................................................................................................................20
2.2. Years of growth...........................................................................................................................................21
2.2.1. First encounters...................................................................................................................................21
2.2.2. The Western Frontier..........................................................................................................................22
2.2.3. The Native Americans' Last Stand.......................................................................................................24
2.2.4. Boarding Schools and Activism............................................................................................................25
3. Early Settlers............................................................................................................................................ 31
3.1. Explorers from Europe.................................................................................................................................31
3.2. Virginian Beginnings...................................................................................................................................32
3.2.1. Captain John Smith and Pocahontas...................................................................................................32
3.2.2. The Lost Colony....................................................................................................................................33
3.3. Puritan New England...................................................................................................................................33
3.3.1. The Mayflower Compact.....................................................................................................................34
3.3.2. Manhattan...........................................................................................................................................34
3.4. Colonial Life in America...............................................................................................................................35
3.4.1. Cities and Trade...................................................................................................................................35
3.4.2. Daniel Boone and the Wilderness Road..............................................................................................35
4. Immigration............................................................................................................................................. 41
4.1. Miners, railroad workers and cattlemen.....................................................................................................41
4.2 Farming the Great Plains.............................................................................................................................41
4.2.1. Homesteaders and cattlemen.............................................................................................................42
4.2.2. John Muir and the National Parks.......................................................................................................42
4.3. The Golden Door..........................................................................................................................................42
5. Federal Government................................................................................................................................ 49
5.1 The Roots of Revolution...............................................................................................................................49
5.1.1. Samuel Adams and the Boston Massacre...........................................................................................49
5.2. Fighting for Independence..........................................................................................................................50
5.3 A New Nation...............................................................................................................................................50
5.3.1 Three Branches of Government...........................................................................................................51
6. Presidential Elections............................................................................................................................... 63
6.1. The Electoral College...................................................................................................................................63
6.2. Watergate...................................................................................................................................................63
6.2.1. Richard Nixon.......................................................................................................................................64
6.2.2. Chronology of Events...........................................................................................................................64
,7. Religion.................................................................................................................................................... 70
7.1. (Historical) background...............................................................................................................................70
7.3.1. Protestantism......................................................................................................................................72
7.3.2. Roman Catholism.................................................................................................................................73
7.3.3. Judaism................................................................................................................................................73
7.3.4. Hinduism..............................................................................................................................................73
7.3.5. Islam.....................................................................................................................................................73
7.3.6 Buddhism..............................................................................................................................................74
7.3.7. Religious cults......................................................................................................................................74
8. Slavery and Cicil War................................................................................................................................ 78
8.1. North and South..........................................................................................................................................78
8.1.1. Eli Whitney and the Cotton Gin...........................................................................................................79
8.2 The Civil War................................................................................................................................................80
8.2.1. The Emancipation Proclamation..........................................................................................................81
8.2.2. The Gettysburg Address.......................................................................................................................81
8.3 Reconstruction..............................................................................................................................................81
9. Black Emancipation.................................................................................................................................. 89
9.1. Brown v. Tropka..........................................................................................................................................89
10. Foreign Policy......................................................................................................................................... 95
10.1. An American Empire..................................................................................................................................95
10.2. A War and a Peace....................................................................................................................................96
10.3. The Arsenal of Diplomacy..........................................................................................................................97
10.3.1. The Issei and the Nisei.......................................................................................................................99
10.4. Cold War and Korea..................................................................................................................................99
10.4.1. The Division of Germany.................................................................................................................100
10.4.2. Airlift to Berlin..................................................................................................................................100
10.4.3. The Birth of NATO............................................................................................................................100
10.5. A Balance of Terror..................................................................................................................................100
10.5.1. The Space Race................................................................................................................................100
10.5.2. The Berlin Wall.................................................................................................................................101
10.5.3. Crisis over Cuba...............................................................................................................................101
10.6. The Vietnam Years..................................................................................................................................101
10.7. America’s Back Yard................................................................................................................................102
11. Economy.............................................................................................................................................. 110
11.1. Inventors and Industries..........................................................................................................................110
11.1.1. Thomas Edison.................................................................................................................................110
11.1.2. Henry Ford and Mass Production....................................................................................................110
11.2. The Roaring Twenties..............................................................................................................................110
11.2.1. The Red Scare..................................................................................................................................110
11.2.2. Al Capone and the Bootleggers.......................................................................................................110
11.3. Crash and Depression..............................................................................................................................111
11.4. Roosevelt’s New Deal..............................................................................................................................111
12. Education............................................................................................................................................. 117
,
, SCC USA
1. Introduction
1.1. The country
The Latin phrase 'E pluribus Unum' ('Out of many, one') is an American motto.
With 9.629.091 km², it is the fourth largest country in the world.
48 of its 50 states lie between the Pacific Ocean to the west, the Atlantic Ocean to the
east, Canada to the north and Mexico to the south. The other 2 states, Alaska and
Hawaii, lie in the north-west corner of the continent and in the Pacific Ocean,
respectively. The most pronounced feature of the country is its variety.
1.1.1. Geography
Atlantic Plain = A coastal strip from the northern
states, which widens into large parts of the southern
states. Its soil is mostly poor, but its most important
natural wealth is found along the Gulf of Mexico, where
much of the nation's crude oil and natural gas reserves
are located.
Piedmont = Inland from the Atlantic Plain, the land
rises to the Piedmont: a gently rolling fertile plateau.
Along the eastern edge of the Piedmont is the fall line,
where rivers running down to the Atlantic Ocean form
waterfalls. When waterpower was still used - before the Industrial Revolution - cities
grew up along this line.
Appalachian Mountains = The Piedmont rises to the
Appalachian Mountains, an eroded line of mountains from
Canada in the north-east to Alabama in the south-east.
These mountains first delayed European settlers in moving
further inland. Iron, building stone and coal are found here in
large quantities, but because cleaner fuels have replaced
coal, this area is now among the most depressed in the
United States.
Central Lowland = a vast area stretching from New York
(state) to central Texas and north to Canada. It resembles a huge (albeit irregular) bowl,
rimmed by the Great Lakes and the highlands. The Central Lowland is not entirely flat
and varies in rainfall and temperature. Rainfall decreases to the west and as a result,
the forests and fields in the east change to prairies in the west, and long and cold winters
in the upper Midwest change to mild and even warm winters around the Gulf of Mexico.
Oil and gas are found here, especially in Oklahoma, Texas and Kansas. The Central
Lowland is also called 'The Nation's Breadbasket' because of its large-scale agriculture.
1. Introduction......................................................................................................................................................4
1.1. The country...............................................................................................................................................4
1.1.1. Geography.............................................................................................................................................4
1.1.2. Symbols................................................................................................................................................12
2. Native Americans..................................................................................................................................... 19
2.1. The First Americans.....................................................................................................................................19
2.1.1. Tribes...................................................................................................................................................19
2.1.2. Society......................................................................................................................................................20
2.2. Years of growth...........................................................................................................................................21
2.2.1. First encounters...................................................................................................................................21
2.2.2. The Western Frontier..........................................................................................................................22
2.2.3. The Native Americans' Last Stand.......................................................................................................24
2.2.4. Boarding Schools and Activism............................................................................................................25
3. Early Settlers............................................................................................................................................ 31
3.1. Explorers from Europe.................................................................................................................................31
3.2. Virginian Beginnings...................................................................................................................................32
3.2.1. Captain John Smith and Pocahontas...................................................................................................32
3.2.2. The Lost Colony....................................................................................................................................33
3.3. Puritan New England...................................................................................................................................33
3.3.1. The Mayflower Compact.....................................................................................................................34
3.3.2. Manhattan...........................................................................................................................................34
3.4. Colonial Life in America...............................................................................................................................35
3.4.1. Cities and Trade...................................................................................................................................35
3.4.2. Daniel Boone and the Wilderness Road..............................................................................................35
4. Immigration............................................................................................................................................. 41
4.1. Miners, railroad workers and cattlemen.....................................................................................................41
4.2 Farming the Great Plains.............................................................................................................................41
4.2.1. Homesteaders and cattlemen.............................................................................................................42
4.2.2. John Muir and the National Parks.......................................................................................................42
4.3. The Golden Door..........................................................................................................................................42
5. Federal Government................................................................................................................................ 49
5.1 The Roots of Revolution...............................................................................................................................49
5.1.1. Samuel Adams and the Boston Massacre...........................................................................................49
5.2. Fighting for Independence..........................................................................................................................50
5.3 A New Nation...............................................................................................................................................50
5.3.1 Three Branches of Government...........................................................................................................51
6. Presidential Elections............................................................................................................................... 63
6.1. The Electoral College...................................................................................................................................63
6.2. Watergate...................................................................................................................................................63
6.2.1. Richard Nixon.......................................................................................................................................64
6.2.2. Chronology of Events...........................................................................................................................64
,7. Religion.................................................................................................................................................... 70
7.1. (Historical) background...............................................................................................................................70
7.3.1. Protestantism......................................................................................................................................72
7.3.2. Roman Catholism.................................................................................................................................73
7.3.3. Judaism................................................................................................................................................73
7.3.4. Hinduism..............................................................................................................................................73
7.3.5. Islam.....................................................................................................................................................73
7.3.6 Buddhism..............................................................................................................................................74
7.3.7. Religious cults......................................................................................................................................74
8. Slavery and Cicil War................................................................................................................................ 78
8.1. North and South..........................................................................................................................................78
8.1.1. Eli Whitney and the Cotton Gin...........................................................................................................79
8.2 The Civil War................................................................................................................................................80
8.2.1. The Emancipation Proclamation..........................................................................................................81
8.2.2. The Gettysburg Address.......................................................................................................................81
8.3 Reconstruction..............................................................................................................................................81
9. Black Emancipation.................................................................................................................................. 89
9.1. Brown v. Tropka..........................................................................................................................................89
10. Foreign Policy......................................................................................................................................... 95
10.1. An American Empire..................................................................................................................................95
10.2. A War and a Peace....................................................................................................................................96
10.3. The Arsenal of Diplomacy..........................................................................................................................97
10.3.1. The Issei and the Nisei.......................................................................................................................99
10.4. Cold War and Korea..................................................................................................................................99
10.4.1. The Division of Germany.................................................................................................................100
10.4.2. Airlift to Berlin..................................................................................................................................100
10.4.3. The Birth of NATO............................................................................................................................100
10.5. A Balance of Terror..................................................................................................................................100
10.5.1. The Space Race................................................................................................................................100
10.5.2. The Berlin Wall.................................................................................................................................101
10.5.3. Crisis over Cuba...............................................................................................................................101
10.6. The Vietnam Years..................................................................................................................................101
10.7. America’s Back Yard................................................................................................................................102
11. Economy.............................................................................................................................................. 110
11.1. Inventors and Industries..........................................................................................................................110
11.1.1. Thomas Edison.................................................................................................................................110
11.1.2. Henry Ford and Mass Production....................................................................................................110
11.2. The Roaring Twenties..............................................................................................................................110
11.2.1. The Red Scare..................................................................................................................................110
11.2.2. Al Capone and the Bootleggers.......................................................................................................110
11.3. Crash and Depression..............................................................................................................................111
11.4. Roosevelt’s New Deal..............................................................................................................................111
12. Education............................................................................................................................................. 117
,
, SCC USA
1. Introduction
1.1. The country
The Latin phrase 'E pluribus Unum' ('Out of many, one') is an American motto.
With 9.629.091 km², it is the fourth largest country in the world.
48 of its 50 states lie between the Pacific Ocean to the west, the Atlantic Ocean to the
east, Canada to the north and Mexico to the south. The other 2 states, Alaska and
Hawaii, lie in the north-west corner of the continent and in the Pacific Ocean,
respectively. The most pronounced feature of the country is its variety.
1.1.1. Geography
Atlantic Plain = A coastal strip from the northern
states, which widens into large parts of the southern
states. Its soil is mostly poor, but its most important
natural wealth is found along the Gulf of Mexico, where
much of the nation's crude oil and natural gas reserves
are located.
Piedmont = Inland from the Atlantic Plain, the land
rises to the Piedmont: a gently rolling fertile plateau.
Along the eastern edge of the Piedmont is the fall line,
where rivers running down to the Atlantic Ocean form
waterfalls. When waterpower was still used - before the Industrial Revolution - cities
grew up along this line.
Appalachian Mountains = The Piedmont rises to the
Appalachian Mountains, an eroded line of mountains from
Canada in the north-east to Alabama in the south-east.
These mountains first delayed European settlers in moving
further inland. Iron, building stone and coal are found here in
large quantities, but because cleaner fuels have replaced
coal, this area is now among the most depressed in the
United States.
Central Lowland = a vast area stretching from New York
(state) to central Texas and north to Canada. It resembles a huge (albeit irregular) bowl,
rimmed by the Great Lakes and the highlands. The Central Lowland is not entirely flat
and varies in rainfall and temperature. Rainfall decreases to the west and as a result,
the forests and fields in the east change to prairies in the west, and long and cold winters
in the upper Midwest change to mild and even warm winters around the Gulf of Mexico.
Oil and gas are found here, especially in Oklahoma, Texas and Kansas. The Central
Lowland is also called 'The Nation's Breadbasket' because of its large-scale agriculture.
