Professional Documents
Culture Documents
the US have welcomed more immigrants than any other country: 50 million in all
racism in the United States has been a major issue in the country since before its founding.
Historically dominated by a settler society of religiously and ethnically diverse whites, race in
the United States as a concept became significant in relation to other groups. Traditionally,
racist attitudes in the country have been most onerously applied to Native Americans, African
Americans and some "foreign-seeming" immigrant groups and their descendants
the first American immigrants were intercontinental hunters with their families who were
following animal herds from Asia to America across the Bering Strait 20,000 years ago
Columbus discovered America (The New World) in 1492 mistaking the place where he
landed he named the native people Indians
during the next 200 years people from European countries followed Columbus across the
Atlantic Ocean native Americans suffered greatly from the influx of Europeans
in the 19th century, the governments preferred solution to the Indian problem to force tribes
to inhabit specific plots of land called reservations
poverty and joblessness among Native Americans still exist today today Native Americans
run casinos
the population of Native Americans has lessened in the past centuries with many territorial
wars, and along with the Old World diseases to which they had no immunity built-up
many American place-names derive from Indian word (e.g. Ohio, Massachusetts, Idaho)
Indians taught Europeans how to cultivate crops that are now grown all over the world
(tomatoes, potatoes, tobacco)
the English were the dominant ethnic group among the early settlers English became the
prevalent language
Europe, and not England, is the parent country of America settlers from Spain, Portugal,
France, Holland, Germany
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5 million people leaving their homeland each year to the Promised Land
many immigrants from Ireland today there are about 40 million people of Irish descent
during the American Civil War (1861-1865), the federal government helped filling their
troops by encouraging immigrants from Europe in return for service in the army,
immigrants were offered grants of land
Jews came to America in the late 19th century today they number over 5 million people
during the late 19th century so many people was entering the US that the government
established a special port of entry: Ellis Island in the harbor in New York
Ellis Island opened in 1892, and closed in 1954 it was the doorway for 12 million people
the Statue of Liberty in the New York harbor was a gift of friendship in 1886 from the people
of France to the people of the United States and is a universal symbol of freedom and
democracy more than 100 years ago
the flood of African immigrants lasted 17th-19th century they were brought as slaves
in 1808 importing of slaves became illegal, but the practice of owning slaves continued
especially in the agrarian South
slaves planted and harvested cash crops and worked in the construction of buildings and
roads, along with performing domestic duties
the process of ending slavery began in 1861 with the outbreak of the American Civil War
slavery was abolished throughout the United States with the passage of the 13th Amendment
to the countrys constitution in 1865 (George Washington was against slavery)
there was a internal wave of immigration African-Americans were moving from the
rural South to the urban North
in the 1950s and 1960s African Americans, led by Martin Luther King, used boycotts,
marches, and other methods of non-violent protest to demand the equal treatment under the
law and to end up the racial prejudice
a high point of the Civil Rights Movement was when more than 200,000 people of all races
gathered in front of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C. to hear M. L. Kings
famous speech I have a dream
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some time after this the U.S. Congress passed laws prohibiting discrimination in voting,
education, employment, housing, and public accommodations
today, the average income of blacks is lower than that of whites, and unemployment of blacks
remains higher than that of whites
many black Americans are trapped by poverty in bad neighborhoods, plagued by drugs and
crime
affirmative action steps that include hiring a certain number of members of black
Americans (or any other minority group) in a certain workplace, or admitting a number of
minority students to a school etc.
about 50% of Latin Americans in the US have origins in Mexico, and the other 50% come
from a variety of countries, including El Salvador, and the Dominican Republic
36% of Hispanics in the States live in California, while hundreds of thousand of Cubans
fleeing the Castro regime settled in Florida
this explains the fact that the use of Spanish is widespread all over the cities in America
in the 20th century there were so many newcomers because of that in 1924 the
Congress passed the Johnson-Reed Immigration Act
the United States set limits on how many people from each country it would admit
this law specifically excluded Asian immigrants because Americans feared that they would
take their jobs
Asian immigrants came to the States a long time ago but because they were forbidden from
owning land, intermarrying with Whites, owning homes, working in many occupations,
getting an education, and living in certain parts of the city or entire cities, the Chinese
basically had no other choice but to retreat into their own isolated communities as a matter of
survival
these first Chinatowns at least allowed them to make a living among themselves
this is where the stereotypical image of Chinese restaurants and laundry shops, Japanese
gardeners and produce stands, and Korean grocery stores began
today Asian Americans are one of the fastest growing ethnic groups in the country
in the 1965 the Immigration and Nationality Act abolished the national-origin quotas
that had been in place in the United States since the Immigration Act of 1924
preference was given to those who had relatives in the States and to immigrants with job skills
which were in short supply in the US
many people feel that this act dramatically changed the face of American society by making it
a multicultural nation
prior to the act, the United States was primarily a nation composed of whites of European
descent and African Americans
the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service estimates that some 5 million people are
living in the US without permission
the problem of illegal immigrants worries native-born Americans and legal immigrants
illegal aliens take jobs from citizens and place a heavy burden on tax-supported social
services
immigrants constantly enrich American communities by bringing aspects of their own, native
culture with them
the melting pot theory is based on the belief that America is one large pot of soup
anyone who comes to the United States assimilates himself or herself to all American belief
systems
all cultural aspects are blended together to form a new race or culture of people where
each ingredient has sacrificed its original identity
cultures are thought to now be a "melted" version of themselves that can no longer be easily
distinguished
syndrome of the 2nd generation immigrants wanted to assimilate, but they were considered
neither Americans nor where they originated from
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the salad bowl idea gives the perspective that immigrants bring different tastes into one
whole, but each ingredient maintains its original shape and characteristics
it is very difficult to establish when the first Croatian settlers came to the American continent,
most probably it was in the 16th century from Dubrovnik and the coast
the greatest number of Croatian immigrants came to America from Dalmatia, which is
quite understandable, since they were primarily sailors, and of all Croatians, they had the
greatest amount of contact with the distant world, and thus with the new continent
the brothers Mato and Dominko Konkendjevic sailed to America in 1520, where after
having lived there for 30 years, amassed a vast fortune of 12,000 gold ducats during the
16th century, people from Dubrovnik came to the American continent, and some even died
here. In addition, there is a very interesting story about a northern American Indian tribe,
which was called Croatoan
massive immigration to the States was from the 1820's until World War I
their immigration was caused by both political and economic factors at the same time
main economic reasons are defined as agrarian overpopulation (too many people on a small
piece of land), the abolition of servitude, falling apart of cooperative societies, bad years,
agrarian crisis, plant diseases etc.
the first Croatian settlements were in Mississippi estuary in Louisiana and in California
first Croatian immigrants to those places were sailors who left their ships out of economic
reasons and also because of the news and rumors about war in Europe, various contagious
diseases on ships, bad conditions of the ships, etc
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there was already a considerably large group of them in 1835 that easily assimilated and
started working in the fields of commerce and catering industry these men usually
married American women, which greatly contributed to their fast and easy assimilation
from the middle of the 19th century a lot of Croats were involved in the oyster business
Croats mostly settled in parts of the States that resembled Croatian soil and climate
the great majority of them, at least in the first centuries of immigration, came to the western
coast of America, primarily to California, where many of them, in a very short time became
very wealthy and respected members of the American community
there is sometimes mentioned that there were Croatian sailors on Columbuss voyages in
the 16th, 17th, 18th century many Croats sailed on Spanish ships they would come there as
merchants and stayed there
the 19th century saw the beginning of a greater immigration of Croatians from all
Croatian provinces (which at that time were divided among many countries: Austria,
Hungary, Italy...)
Croatian priests soon followed the immigrants to the new land in order to make it somewhat
easier for their fellow countrymen. Little by little, and with great difficulty, these priests found
the Croatian communities and began to establish Croatian parishes, so that, in this way the
Croatian immigrants could feel a connection to their homeland in the far away land of
America
Ivan Ratkay a nobleman from Croatia that went to America because of his beliefs and his
will to help; the earliest well-known Croatian missionary was a Jesuit named Ivan Ratkaj,
who arrived in Mexico already in 1680, and worked among the Indians of Northern
Mexico and due to his early death, he never made it to California
Ferdinand Konscak - at the beginning of the 18th century spent the greater part of his
missionary life in California by the middle of the century he established many new
missions among the American Indians and among them he was extraordinarily beloved
he was perhaps the most famous missionary of his time, and he established some
missions that even today are well known on the West Coast discovered that California
was a peninsula (not an island) and made a detailed map of the region
Josip Kundek was the 3rd well known Croatian missionary arrived in America at the
beginning of the 19th century he established new missions and worked primarily with
the German Catholics in a diocese that included Indiana and a part of Illinois, including
Chicago In 1839 he established a new city and called it Jasper, and in 1843 he
established Celestine, both of course with parishes he was everywhere where there were
Germans and in this way he became the first Croatian in Pittsburgh and New Orleans
in 1957 it was founded Fathers Kundek Day
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George Prpich lives in Cleveland and has a big role in promoting Croats in the USA
book: The Croatian Immigrants In America
Edward Ifkovich in his book Anna Marinkovich tells a story of a Croatian family in
chase of their American Dream
*Antonio Mazzanovich was an odd figure that came to the States in the 19th century at the age
of 11 and accepted to fight in the Civil War chasing Jeronimo
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Anton Mazzanovich served in campaigns against the Apache Indians in 1881 he was a
member of General George Crook's Camp Association, Arizona Pioneers Historical Society
and Life Companion of the Order of Indian Wars of the United States, Washington D.C.
born on Lesina (Hvar), Province of Dalmatia, Austria, ( now Croatia) April 30, 1860
at the age of eight years emigrated to America, landing at Castle Garden, New York, in
October, 1868 his stay here was brief, for on December 24,1868, he arrived to San
Francisco, California, the gateway to the 'Wild and Woolly West'
enlisted in the army as a musician, January 29, 1870, at San Francisco and was discharged at
the request of his father Lorenz Mazzanovich, to enable him to assist in the support of the
family
considered himself to be the youngest soldier, probably , that ever enlisted in the Regular
Army, being but nine years and nine months of age at the time of enlistment.
during the Modoc Indian War of 1872 and 1873 was considered too young to go to the front
his second enlistment occurred February 10, 1881, At San Francisco, California he was
assigned to Troop M, Sixth Calvary, and was transferred to the band of that regiment on
March 1, 1881, and to Troop T, same regiment, August 11, 1881
was discharged on July 10, 1882, at Fort Grant, Arizona Territory, because of disability
the Mazzanovich family were musicians upon coming to San Francisco in 1868.
A L. Mazzanovich was a volunteer musician in the Slavonian Rifles, 1st Company, Louisiana
Volunteers, Confederate Army of 1861.
Apache Campaign: During 1881 it was reported that the White Mountain Apaches were
getting ready to go out on the warpath and that trouble would likely ensue. Meantime affairs
at the White Mountain Apache reservation were becoming more and more serious. One of
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their medicine men, known as Nokay-de-Klinne, was going from camp to camp on the
reservation, telling the Indians that on August 31,1881, all the Indians who had died, would
return to earth again. They were holding dances nightly for three months. The medicine man
attempted escape, but was shot with three bullets through head. In a short time pandemonium
seemed to have broken loose. All the Indians on the reservation joined the hostiles and started
on the warpath. They surrounded the Fort, opened fire, cut the Government telegraph wire,
and Fort Apache was cut off from all outside communication
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Mazzanovich's Troop broke camp and started for the Gila River, which was running high. An
Indian scout brought the news that Chiricahua apache, led by Geronimo had gone on the
warpath. Later, the Troop was informed that Chiefs Nana and Geronimo returned to the
reservation. It was agreed that the Indians were to be given rations prior to surrender. In
Mazzanovich's own words the following is related: "About three P.M. they were all out of
sight, although we could see the smoke of their campfires coming up from behind a hollow in
the foothills. Shortly thereafter, Geronimo rode into camp with half a dozen braves, and asked
Lieutenant Overton if he could allow him one hour more, as he wanted to see if the tribe got
what was coming to them. Three o'clock was the time that had been agreed upon as the time
for surrender. The Lieutenant wired Colonel Carr for instructions. I happened to be standing
alongside Geronimo's pony and when old rascal was not looking, I tried to nip one of the
silver trinkets which dangled from his buckskin saddlebag: but I failed, as he caught me in the
act. Geronimo was a fine specimen of the Apache Indian, with high cheekbones, a very
determined face, straight mouth, thin lips. On this occasion he was all 'dolled up' in his best,
with a long war bonnet, the feathers of which trailed down on each side of his pony. At four
o'clock Geronimo had not shown up.
Deadly Combat with Apaches: Mazzanovich in his own words relates the battle "This was the
first time that I was ever under fire, and in the excitement I lost my can of peaches and side of
bacon. Then came another volley! Fortunately, no one was hit, but some of the leaden missiles
seemed to come mighty close -too close for real comfort. There we were a fine group ! I know
I had a creepy feeling and expected to be sent to the 'happy hunting grounds' almost any
second.
Wounded: Finally a bullet struck me in the tight about the knee. The pain was terrible. I was
afraid to look down or feel the wound, but imagined that the blood was trickling down my leg.
I was trembling like a leaf , and so dry that it seemed as if I could drink a gallon of water.
When I finally made an investigation, I discovered that I had been hit by a spent bullet! In
fact, the slug was lying on top of the gravel at my feet. The scar is still with me to this day ,
and every time I look at it I am reminded of my first fight with the Indians.
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The Saloon: Mazzanovich later ran a saloon in a mining town called Shakespeare, about
three miles from Lordsburg, New Mexico. During another Indian uprising in 1885. he joined
the New Mexico rangers. It is indeed unusual to find an Indian fighter , frontiersman,
saloon-keeper, ranger and cowboy by the name of "Mazzanovich", but not again so strange
when the story of the hardy Dalmatian pioneer in the West is researched and made a part of
the American West.
Gambling: As a last remark of all remarkable pioneers: "Mention is made of gambling. I don't
want to hold this against me; for in the days when the Empire of the West was in the making,
conditions and the standards of morals were very different from those of the present day.
Gambling was no more thought of against a man than going to the theatre, automobiling,
dancing, or any of the other conventional modern forms of amusement. I have seen what
rattlesnakes and gambling can do to men. My warning to our future generation included
every form of gambling. Never attempt to get something for nothing.
Mark Rabassa a Croat introduced the apple industry in Pajaro Valley* and grew figs,
apples, plums
the recognition of the Republic of Croatia helped the Croatian minority to get equal treatment
with other ethnic groups in the States
the USA is a country in North America that extends from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific
Ocean, and shares land borders with Canada and Mexico
the United States is the world's 3rd largest country by total area, and the third largest by
land area alone, after Russia and Canada.
its contiguous portion is bounded by the North Atlantic Ocean to the east, the North Pacific
Ocean to the west, Mexico and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Canada to the north
the state of Alaska also borders Canada, with the Pacific Ocean to its south, the Arctic Ocean
to its north, and the Bering Strait to the west
the state of Hawaii occupies an archipelago in the Pacific Ocean, southwest of the North
American mainland
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due to its large size and wide range of geographic features, the United States contains
examples of nearly every global climate
the climate is temperate in most areas, tropical in Hawaii and southern Florida, polar in
Alaska, semiarid in the Great Plains west of the 100th meridian, Mediterranean in coastal
California and arid in the Great Basin; its comparatively generous climate contributed (in part)
to the country's rise as a world power, with infrequent severe drought in the major agricultural
regions, a general lack of widespread flooding, and a mainly temperate climate that receives
adequate precipitation
6 main regions:
1. New England
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the smallest region; from the 17th to the 19th century was the countrys cultural and
economical center
first settlers here were English Protestants the town meeting in which citizens
gathered to discuss issues of the day
the mainstays of the region became shipbuilding, fishing and trade with the
economical growth, Boston became the financial heart of the nation
early settlers were mostly farmers and traders, and this region was like a bridge
between North and South
3. The South
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from Virginia south to Florida and west as far as central Texas, includes West Virginia,
Kentucky, Tennessee, North and South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi,
Arkansas, Louisiana, and parts of Missouri and Oklahoma
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an agrarian region growing tobacco and cotton, there were large plantations which
required many laborers (slavery was spread throughout all the South!)
southern towns and cities legalized and refined the practice of racial segregation
4. The Midwest
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a cultural crossroad
its known as the nations breadbasket fertile soil made possible to grow cereal
crops such as wheat, oats and corn
Great Lakes
5. The Southwest
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the weather is drier, the population is dense, and there is big number of Spanish
Americans and Native Americans)
a strong influence of the magnificent Grand Canyon; there is also the Monument
Valley
Monument Valley is a Navajo Nation tribal park, straddling the border of northeastern
Arizona and southeastern Utah of the Colorado Plateau it preserves the Navajo way
of life and some of the most striking and recognizable landscapes of sandstone buttes,
mesas and spires in the entire Southwest
6. The West
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considered as the last frontier a region of scenic beauty on a grand scale; all of its 11
states are mountainous
the federal government owns and manages millions of hectares of undeveloped land
Alaska the northernmost state, is a vast land, known for it oil resources
Hawaii the only state where Asian Americans outnumber residents of European stock
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* PAJARO VALLEY
- located on the Central California Coast, Pajaro Valley runs from the Coast Range to the
Sea or as its known, the Monterey Bay. Comprised of some of the best agricultural farm land in the
world, the Pajaro Valley supplies Lettuce, Strawberries, Apples and cut flowers to name a just few
of the crops grown here.
- the city of Watsonville is located almost in the middle of the Pajaro Valley with the following
communities scattered about the Valley. Freedom, Pajaro, Salsipuedes, Corralitos, Aromas, Las
Lomas, Pajaro Dunes, and La Selva Beach. Moss Landing is on the edge of the Valley, and is
sometimes included as part of the Valley.
- running almost down the center of the valley is the Pajaro River. During the winter months, it
can become quite a raging and sometimes flood threatening beast. The rest of the year, if you wander
along the river, it looks to be dry, but don't let it full you, it merely goes underground, to reappear
further down stream.
- from the City of Watsonville Website comes this bit of info: "Explorers with the first Portola
expedition in 1769 reported seeing a large straw-stuffed bird at one river's mouth and decided to name
the river after the Indian symbol: Rio Del Pajaro, or River of the Bird."
- the center of the river bed, also performs another job besides that of a river. Way back in the
Valleys history, when the counties of the state of California were laid out, the powers that be back then
decided to set the Santa Cruz/Monterey county line as the center of the river bed. They never realized
that in the short history of the counties that the river would change its course in several locations. So
there is a spot or 2 where the opposite county is on the opposite side of the river.
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- the Pilgrims were the first English colonists to permanently settle in New England in what we
now know as Massachusetts and on September 16, 1620 the ship "Mayflower" set off from
Plymouth, England on it journey to the New World
- in 1620 the Puritans founded the Plymouth Colony (later became Massachusetts), the 1 st colony
in New England Puritans hoped to build an ideal community
- by 1733 English settlers had founded 13 colonies along the Atlantic Coast
- 13 original colonies: Virginia, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York,
Maryland, Rhode Island, Connecticut, Delaware, North Carolina, South Carolina,
Pennsylvania, Georgia
- the early colonists lived concurrently under 2 governments: their own local units and the
imperial rule of the British
- soon afterwards England became to cause troubles to the new colonies imposed new taxes,
the colonists resented the taxes and resisted the quartering the soldiers
- a group of patriots in 1773 rebelled against the tax on tea this event is known as the Boston
Tea Party: disguised as Indians, they boarded British merchant ships and dumped tea into the
Boston harbor
- this was a cause for the Revolutionary War or the War for Independence (1775 - 1783) in
1776 the Continental Congress adopted the Declaration on Independence (the author is Thomas
Jefferson, which later became president in 1801)
- the War for Independence was ended with the Treaty of Paris 1783, by which England
recognized American Independence
- George Washington was the wars military hero and Americas first president
- Thomas Jefferson as president, purchased the Louisiana Territory from France, doubling
the size of the USA
- Abraham Lincoln (elected president in 1860, assassinated in 1865), a foe of slavery, 11 states
left the Union and proclaimed the themselves an independent nation: The Confederate States
of America (South Carolina, Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Texas, Virginia,
Arkansas, Tennessee and North Carolina) the American War had begun
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- The Civil War (1861-1865)
- the greatest war in the American history this is also the only conflict that the Americans
actually consider to be a war
- the Civil War was actually fought to keep a nation together
- in this war, the blacks were fighting for civil rights, and the Indians for the land they
were just taken advantage of
- this war was fought between the urban North and the agrarian South
- the Confederate Army did well in the early part of the war generals Lee and Grant
- in 1863 General Lee met the Union army in Gettysburg the largest battle ever fought on
American soil; General Grant captured the city of Vicksburg
- with the skills of the generals and their soldiers, the Confederates surrendered
- the Civil War was the most traumatic episode in the American history
- outcome of the War: 1) end to slavery, 2) the country was not a collection of semiindependent states but an indivisible whole
- generals:
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- later they acquired the Hawaiian islands became a state in 1959 and so did Alaska
- in the beginning of the 20th century the Progressive Movement arose to reform society and
individuals through government action
- World War I 1914 Woodrow Wilson urged a policy of strict American neutrality but that
eventually changed with German submarines bounding all ships the U.S. enters the war
- in 1919, W. Wilson helps to draft the peace treaty in Versailles League of Nations
- in 1920 women get to vote
- the 1920s: - the age of Prohibition and gangsters (Al Capone)
- the age of jazz and silent movies
- in the end of the 1920s the Stock Market Crash in 1929
- the age of great depression: Franklin Delano Roosevelt and The New Deal
- within the historic Hundred Days, Roosevelt rushed through Congress a great
number of laws to help economy recover opening of public jobs (road construction, public
buildings)
- The New Deal did not end the Depression, although the economy improved
- World War II the entry of the United States with the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7,
1941 the United States entered the war against Japan and all its allies, Germany and Italy
- D-Day landing in Normandy
- a great influence of the United States on the end of the war: President Harry Truman
ordered the use of atomic bombs against the cities of Nagasaki and Hiroshima
- The Cold War - the period of conflict, tension and competition between the United States
and the Soviet Union and their allies from the mid 1940s until the early 1990s
- the main U.S. allies were Western Europe, Japan and Canada
- the main Soviet allies were Eastern Europe and (until the Sino-Soviet split) China
throughout the period, the rivalry between the two superpowers was played out in multiple arenas:
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military coalitions; ideology, psychology, and espionage; military, industrial, and
technological developments; costly defense spending; a massive conventional and nuclear
arms race; and many proxy wars
- North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) April 1949 alliance between United States,
Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway,
Portugal and the United Kingdom
- 1945-1970 a long period of economic growth
- the Bay of Pigs Crisis in 1962 (president Kennedy) The Bay of Pigs Invasion
was an unsuccessful action by a CIA-trained force of Cuban exiles to invade southern Cuba,
with support and encouragement from the US government, in an attempt to overthrow the
Cuban government of Fidel Castro. The invasion was launched in April 1961, less than three
months after John F. Kennedy assumed the presidency in the United States. The Cuban armed
forces, trained and equipped by Eastern Bloc nations, defeated the invading combatants
within three days.
The main invasion landing took place at a beach named Playa Girn, located at the mouth of
the bay. The invasion is named after the Bay of Pigs, although that is only a modern
translation of the Spanish Baha de Cochinos. In Latin America, the conflict is often known as
La Batalla de Girn, or just Playa Girn.
- July 1969 Neil Armstrong became the first man on moons surface
- the Vietnam War (1959-1975)
- was a military conflict in present day Vietnam occurring from 1959 to April 30, 1975
- the conflict was a successful effort by the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV or North
Vietnam) and the indigenous (domai) National Front for the Liberation of South Vietnam
- to unify Vietnam as a communist state, defeating the South Vietnamese Republic of
Vietnam (RVN). To a degree, the Vietnam War was a "proxy war" between the U.S. and its
Western allies on the side of the RVN, with the Soviet Union and the People's Republic of
China supporting the DRV on the other
- as a result of this it is often considered part of the Cold War
* the Indian Wars Jeronimo, general Custer, Sitting Bull
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* The Korean War - fought in Korea North Corea influenced by China invaded South Korea,
which got the support of the States
* WARS WHICH WERE NOT FOUGHT ON THE AMERICAN SOIL
- The Spanish American War, World War I, The Korean War, Vietnam War, Desert Storm
* THE 1st CENSUS
- The census is performed by the United States Census Bureau (zavod). The first census
after the American Revolution was taken in 1790; there have been 21 federal censuses since that time.
The next census will be taken in 2010. A detailed page on the most recent census can be found at
United States Census, 2000.
4. NATIONAL CELEBRATIONS
- Americans share 3 national holidays with many countries: Easter Sunday (on Easter Monday, the
American president holds an annual Easter egg hunt on the White House lawn for children), Christmas
Day and New Years Day
- the celebrations of national origins: Thanksgiving and the Fourth of July
- Thanksgiving Day - is the fourth Thursday in November; the holiday dates back in 1621 when the
Puritans after a rough winter, in which half of them died, turned to Indians for help and the Indians
taught them how to plant corn and other crops the next fall the harvest was successful an the
Pilgrims wanted to give thanks by holding a feast; to this day the Thanksgiving dinner almost always
includes some of the foods served at the first feast like roast turkey, cranberry sauce, potatoes and
pumpkin pie.
- The Fourth of July / Independence Day honors the nations birthday: signing the Declaration of
Independence on July 4, 1776; it is a day of picnics and patriotic parades, night of concerts,
fireworks, and the flying of the American flag
- 6 other uniquely American holidays:
- Martin Luther King Day a great American because of his efforts to win civil rights for all people,
celebrated on the 3rd Monday of January (national holiday)
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- Presidents Day celebrated on the 3rd Monday in February (joined the birthdays of Abraham
Lincoln and of George Washington), to embrace all past presidents
- Memorial Day celebrated on the 4th Monday of May, this holiday honors the dead (it originates
from the Civil War)
- Labor Day the 1st Monday of September, honors the nations working people; it marks the end
of summer vacation and the beginning of a new school year
- Columbus Day 2nd Monday in October; the day Columbus landed on America
- Veterans Day established to honor Americans who served in World War 1; 11th November; now
honors veterans of all wars in which US has fought
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4. JAMES MADISON 1809-1817
- is known as the "Father of the Constitution"
- in 1788, he wrote over a third of the Federalist Papers, still the most influential
commentary on the Constitution
- as a leader in the first Congresses he drafted many basic laws and was
responsible for the first ten amendments to the Constitution, and thus he
is also known as the "Father of the Bill of Rights" The Bill of Rights is the
collective name for the first ten amendments to the United States Constitution. These
limitations serve to protect the natural rights of liberty and property. They guarantee a
number of personal freedoms, limit the government's power in judicial and other proceedings,
and reserve some powers to the states and the public. While originally the amendments
applied only to the federal government, most of their provisions have since been held to apply
to the states by way of the Fourteenth Amendment.
The amendments were introduced by James Madison to the 1st United States Congress as a
series of legislative articles. They were adopted by the House of Representatives on August
21, 1789, formally proposed by joint resolution of Congress on September 25, 1789, and
came into effect as Constitutional Amendments on December 15, 1791, through the process of
ratification by three-fourths of the States. While twelve amendments were passed by
Congress, only ten were originally passed by the states. Of the remaining two, one was
adopted as the Twenty-seventh Amendment and the other technically remains pending before
the states.
Originally, the Bill of Rights included legal protection for land-owning white men only,
excluding African Americans and women. It took additional Constitutional Amendments and
numerous Supreme Court cases to extend the same rights to all U.S. citizens.
5. JAMES MONROE 1817-1825
- acquisition of Florida
- the profession of the Monroe Doctrine (1823), declaring U.S. opposition to European
interference
6. JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 1825-1829
7. ANDREW JACKSON 1829-1837
- the founder of the modern Democratic Party; the eponym of the era of Jacksonian
democracy
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8. MARTIN VAN BUREN 1837-1841
- was a key organizer of the Democratic Party, and the first president who was not of
English, Irish, or Scottish descent
- he is also the only president not to have spoken English as his first language, but rather grew
up speaking Dutch
9. WILLIAM HARRISON 1841-1841
10. JOHN TYLER 1841-1845
11. JAMES POLK 1845-1849
12. ZACHARY TAYLOR 1849-1850
13. MILLARD FILLMORE 1850-1853
14. FRANKLIN PIERCE 1853-1857
15. JAMES BUCHANAN 1857-1861
16. ABRAHAM LINCOLN 1861-1865
- was an American politician elected from Illinois as the 16th President of the United States
(1861 to 1865), and the first president from the Republican Party; assassinated in 1865
- to achieve his main goal of preserving the Union, Lincoln first ended slavery in the
Confederacy through his Emancipation Proclamation in 1863 then, in 1865, Lincoln secured
passage of the Thirteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution to abolish slavery forever; he took
personal charge of Reconstruction, seeking to speedily re-unite the nation through a policy of
generous reconciliation
- his life and influence have made him an icon of cherished American political freedoms and
aspirations
- on January 1, 1863, Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation that
declared forever free those slaves within the Confederacy accepted in 1865
17. ANDREW JOHNSON 1865-1869
21
- his conciliatory policies towards the South, his hurry to reincorporate the former
Confederates back into the union, and his vetoes of civil rights bills embroiled him in a bitter dispute
with the Radical Republicans
- the Radicals in the House of Representatives impeached him in 1868, but he was acquitted
by a single vote in the Senate he was the first United States president to be impeached
18. ULYSSES GRANT 1869-1877
19. RUTHERFORD HAYES 1877-1881
20. JAMES GARFIELD 1881-1881
21. CHESTER ARTHUR 1881-1885
22. GROVER CLEVELAND 1885-1889
23. BENJAMIN HARRISON 1889-1893
24. GROVER CLEVELAND 1893-1897
25. WILLIAM MCKINLEY 1897-1901
26. THEODORE ROOSEVELT 1901-1909
- he became President after the assassination of President William McKinley. Roosevelt was a
Progressive reformer who sought to move the dominant Republican Party into the Progressive
camp
- he distrusted wealthy businessmen and dissolved 40 monopolistic corporations as a "trust
buster"
- he was the first American to be awarded the Nobel Prize, winning its Peace Prize in 1906, for
negotiating the peace in the Russo-Japanese War
27. WILLIAM TAFT 1909-1913
28. WOODROW WILSON 1913-1921
- leading intellectual of the Progressive Era
22
- he was an advocate of racial segregation and military interventions in foreign countries
- In the late stages of the war he took personal control of negotiations with Germany,
especially with the Fourteen Points and the Armistice; he went to Paris in 1919 to create the League
of Nations and shape the Treaty of Versailles, with special attention on creating new nations out of
defunct empires
29. WARREN HARDING 1921-1923
- usually ranked as one of the most unsuccessful American presidents
30. CALVIN COOLIDGE 1923-1929
- he restored public confidence in the White House after the scandals of his predecessor's
administration, and left office with considerable popularity
- important role during the Boston Police Strike
31. HERBERT HOOVER 1929-1933
32. FRANKLIN ROOSEVELT 1933-1945
- elected to four terms in office, he served from 1933 to 1945, and is the only U.S. president
to have served more than two terms. A central figure of the 20th century, he has consistently been
ranked as one of the three greatest U.S. presidents
- during the Great Depression of the 1930s, Roosevelt created the New Deal to provide relief
for the unemployed, recovery of the economy, and reform of the economic system. His most famous
legacies include the Social Security system and the regulation of Wall Street
- his aggressive use of an active federal government reenergized the Democratic Party
- Roosevelt built the New Deal coalition that dominated politics into the 1960s
33. HARRY TRUMAN 1945-1953
- Truman's presidency was eventful in foreign affairs, starting with victory over Germany, the
atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the surrender of Japan and the end of World War II, the
founding of the United Nations, the Marshall Plan to rebuild Europe, the Truman Doctrine to contain
Communism, the beginning of the Cold War, the creation of NATO, and the Korean War
23
34. DWIGHT IKE EISENHOWER 1953-1961
- an American soldier and politician, who served as the 34th President of the United States
- in 1951 he became the first supreme commander of NATO
- as President he ended the Korean War, kept up the pressure on the Soviet Union during the
Cold War, made nuclear weapons a higher defense priority, launched the space race, enlarged the
Social Security program, and began building the Interstate Highway System.
35. JOHN F. KENNEDY 1961-1963
- born in 1917 in Brookline, Massachusetts; assassinated in November 1963
- the only Roman Catholic to be elected President of the United States as of 2006
- graduated cum laude from Harvard with a degree in international affairs in June 1940
- J. F. Kennedy married Jacqueline Lee Bouvier in 1953
- in 1960, Kennedy declared his intent to run for President of the United States. In the
Democratic primary election, he faced challenges from Senator Hubert H. Humphrey of Minnesota,
Senator Lyndon B. Johnson of Texas, and Adlai Stevenson, the Democratic nominee in 1952 and
1956, who was not officially running but was a favorite write-in candidate
- in his presidency asked the nations of the world to join together to fight what he called the
"common enemies of man: tyranny, poverty, disease, and war itself"
- Kennedy's decorations in World War II included the Purple Heart, AsiaticPacific Campaign Medal, and the World War II Victory Medal; he was honorably
discharged in early 1945
- major events during his presidency included the Bay of Pigs invasion,
the Cuban Missile Crisis, the building of the Berlin Wall, the Space Race,
early events of the Vietnam War, and the American Civil Rights Movement
- Cuba and the Bay of Pigs Scandal - in hopes of overthrowing the leftist Castro regime, Kennedy and his young
cabinet drew the Bay of Pigs operation
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- on April 17, 1961, Kennedy gave orders allowing the previously planned
invasion of Cuba to proceed; with support from the Central Intelligence Agency
(CIA), in what is known as the Bay of Pigs Invasion, 1,500 U.S.-trained Cuban
exiles, called "Brigade 2506", returned to the island in the hope of deposing Fidel
Castro; however, the CIA proceeded to allow the troops to go even though
Kennedy did not authorize air support; by April 19, Castro's government had
captured or killed most of the invading exiles and Kennedy was forced to
negotiate for the release of the 1,189 survivors
- after 20 months, Cuba released the captured exiles in exchange for $53
million worth of food and medicine
- the incident was a major embarrassment for Kennedy, but he took full
personal responsibility for the debacle
- Cuban Missile Crisis - The Cuban Missile Crisis began on October 14, 1962, when American U2 spy planes took photographs of a Soviet intermediate-range ballistic
missile (raketa) site under construction in Cuba America would soon be
posed with a serious nuclear threat
- here Kennedy faced a dilemma: if the U.S. attacked the sites it might lead
to nuclear war with the U.S.S.R.; if the U.S. did nothing, it would endure the
perpetual threat of nuclear weapons within its regionin such close proximity
that if the weapons were launched pre-emptively, the U.S. may have been unable
to retaliate
- another fear was that the U.S. would appear to the world as weak in its
own hemisphere many military officials and cabinet members pressed for an
air assault on the missile sites, but Kennedy ordered a naval blockade in
which the U.S. Navy inspected all ships and he began negotiations with the
Soviets
- he ordered the Soviets to remove all "defensive" material that is being
built off the Cuban island without doing so, the Soviet people would face a
naval blockade, as well as Cuba. A week later, he and Soviet Premier Nikita
Khrushchev reached an agreement: Khrushchev agreed to remove the missiles
while the U.S. publicly promised never to invade Cuba and also secretly promised
to remove U.S. ballistic missiles from Turkey within six months
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- following this incident, which brought the world closer to nuclear war than
at any point before or since, Kennedy was more cautious in confronting the Soviet
Union
- as one of his first presidential acts, Kennedy created the Peace Corps.
Through this program, Americans volunteered to help underdeveloped nations in
areas such as education, farming, health care and construction
26
- troubled by the long-term dangers of radioactive contamination and
nuclear weapons proliferation, Kennedy pushed for the adoption of a Limited or
Partial Test Ban Treaty, which prohibited atomic testing on the ground, in the
atmosphere, or underwater, but did not prohibit testing underground
- the United States, the United Kingdom and the Soviet Union were the
initial signatories to the treaty Kennedy signed the treaty into law in August
1963
- Kennedy called his domestic program the "New Frontier" it ambitiously
promised federal funding for education, medical care for the elderly, and
government intervention to halt the recession
- The Civil Rights Movement - the turbulent end of state-sanctioned racial discrimination was one of the most pressing
domestic issues of Kennedy's era
- the U.S. Supreme Court had ruled in 1954 that racial segregation in public schools
would no longer be permitted However, many schools, especially in southern states, did
not obey the Supreme Court's injunction Segregation on buses, in restaurants, movie
theaters, bathrooms, and other public places remained Kennedy supported racial
integration and civil rights
- Space Program
- Kennedy was eager for the United States to lead the way in the space race
- he launched the Apollo Project, which had the goal of landing an American man on the
moon before the end of the decade
- Kennedy and his wife "Jackie" were very young in comparison to earlier
Presidents and first ladies, and were both extraordinarily popular in ways more
common to pop singers and movie stars than politicians, influencing fashion
trends and becoming the subjects of numerous photo spreads in popular
magazines
- President Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas while on a political trip through Texas
- official investigations have repeatedly determined Lee Harvey Oswald
was the assassin of JFK, but critics allege that Oswald acted as part of a
27
conspiracy or was not involved at all and was framed. Kennedy's assassination is
considered to be a defining moment in U.S. history due to its traumatic impact on
the nation as well as on the political history of the ensuing decades, his
subsequent branding as an icon for a new generation of Americans and American
aspirations, and for the mystery and conspiracy allegations which surround it
- Kennedy came third (behind Martin Luther King, Jr and Mother Teresa) in a Gallup list
of the most admired people of the twentieth century
36. LYNDON B. JOHNSON 1963-1969
- a major leader of the Democratic Party and as President was responsible for designing his
Great Society, comprising liberal legislation including civil rights laws, Medicare (health care for the
elderly), Medicaid (health care for the poor), aid to education, and a major "War on Poverty"
- simultaneously, he escalated the Vietnam War, from 16,000 American soldiers in 1963 to
550,000 in early 1968
37. RICHARD NIXON 1969-1974
- the only U.S. president to have resigned from office his resignation came in the face of
potential impeachment related to the Watergate scandal
- Watergate Affair (1972)
- the term Watergate has come to encompass a large array of illegal and secret activities
undertaken by Nixon or his aides during his administration
- the burglarizing of the Democratic party national headquarters in the Watergate
apartment complex in Washington, D.C.
- in 1972, police apprehended five men attempting to break into and wiretap Democratic party
offices; with two other accomplices they were trialed and convicted in January 1973 all seven men
were either directly or indirectly employees of President Nixon's reelection committee, and many
persons, including the trial judge, John J. Sirica, suspected a conspiracy involving higher-echelon
government officials
- when the scandal broke out, Nixon admitted that he had been aware of the Watergate coverup
shortly after the break-in occurred and that he had tried to halt the FBI's inquiry into the break-in
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- Nixon resigned and was succeeded by Gerald R. Ford.
38. GERALD FORD 1974-1977
- Republican Party
- the first person appointed to the vice presidency under the terms of the 25th Amendment
Upon succession to the presidency, Ford became the only person to hold that office without having
been elected either President or Vice President
39. JIMMY CARTER 1977-1981
- considered the mildest American president ; Democratic Party
- he is the earliest living president and second-oldest living United States president
29
- originates form Arkansas
- during Clinton's presidency the United States experienced the longest period of economic
expansion in its history
- in 1998, he became the second president to be impeached by the United States House of
Representatives as a result of allegations that he had lied during grand jury testimony regarding
his sexual relationship with Monica Lewinsky, a young female White House intern, Clinton was the
second U.S. president to be impeached by the House of Representatives (the other being Andrew
Johnson) he was subsequently acquitted by the United States Senate and remained in office to
complete his term
- Clinton was a New Democrat politician and was mainly responsible for the Third Way
philosophy of governance that came to epitomize his two terms as president
- since leaving office, Clinton has been involved in public speaking and humanitarian work
he created the William J. Clinton Foundation to promote and address international causes, such as
treatment and prevention of HIV/ AIDS and global warming
- today lives is New York and practices law in Harlem
- Hillary Rodham Clinton is the Senator of New York, belongs to the Democratic Party
the first female senator to represent New York
- is often called a dove she is pro-choice
- probably going to run for president
* PRESIDENTS THAT WERE IN THE OFFICE FOR 2 TERMS:
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- president Bush's declaration of the Global War on Terror would become the most
controversial aspect of his presidency
- according to polls of job approval rating, his popularity reached record heights after
September 11, but later drastically declined, due to his perceived poor handling of the Iraq War
- Condoleezza Rice the Secretary of State, and the second in the administration of President
George W. Bush to hold the office; she succeeded Colin Powell
- first African American woman, second African American (after Powell), and second
woman (after Madeleine Albright) to serve as Secretary of State
- Condoleezza Rice was Bush's National Security Advisor during his first term
- often called the hawk
for two hundred years, the White House has stood as a symbol of the Presidency, the
United States government, and the American people
the official home and principal workplace of the President of the United States of
America the house is built of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the late Georgian
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style and it is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, D.C. on the Potomac
River
-
Jacqueline Kennedy, wife of President John F. Kennedy, directed the most extensive
and historic redecoration of the house in its history
the White House Complex is protected by the United States Secret Service and the
United States Park Police
the flag of the United States consists of 13 equal horizontal stripes of red (top and
bottom) alternating with white, with a blue rectangle in the canton bearing 50 small,
white, five-pointed stars
the 50 stars on the flag represent the 50 U.S. states and the 13 stripes represent the
original Thirteen Colonies that rebelled against the British crown and became the first
states in the Union
many citizens understand the flag to represent the freedoms and rights guaranteed in the
U.S. Constitution and its Bill of Rights and perhaps most of all to be a symbol of
individual and personal liberty as set forth in the Declaration of Independence
a bald eagle with its wings outstretched; from the eagle's perspective, it holds a bundle
of thirteen arrows in its left talon, (referring to the thirteen original states), and an olive
branch, (having thirteen leaves and thirteen olives), in its right talon, symbolic
respectively of war and peace
the eagle has its head turned towards the olive branch, symbolizing a preference for
peace. The eagle clutches the motto "E Pluribus Unum", ("Out of Many, One"), in its
beak; over its head there appears a "glory" with thirteen mullets (stars) on a blue field
UNCLE SAM
-
Uncle Sam is a national personification of the United States, with the first usage of the
term dating from the War of 1812 and the first illustration dating from 1852
he is often depicted as a serious elderly man with white hair and a goatee, dressed in
clothing that recalls the design elements of the flag of the United Statesfor example, a
top hat with red and white stripes and white stars on a blue band, and red and white
pants
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NATIONAL ANTHEM
-
"The Star-Spangled Banner" is the national anthem of the United States of America
recognized for official use by the United States Navy (1889) and the White House
(1916), and was made the national anthem by a Congressional resolution on 3 March
1931
although the song has four stanzas, only the first is commonly sung today
MOUNT RUSHOMORE
-
the mountain itself was originally named after Charles E. Rushmore, a New York lawyer
investigating mining claims in the Black Hills in 1885
the presidents were selected on the basis of what each symbolized. George Washington
represents the struggle for independence, Thomas Jefferson the idea of government by the
people. Abraham Lincoln for his ideas on equality and the permanent union of the states, and
Theodore Roosevelt for the 20th century role of the United States in world affairs
S. Route 66, (also known as Route 66, The Main Street of America, The Mother Road and the
Will Rogers Highway) was a highway in the U.S. Highway system
one of the original federal routes, US 66 was established on November 11th, 1926, though
signs did not go up until the following year it originally ran from Chicago, Illinois through
Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and California before ending at
Los Angeles for a total of 2,448 miles(3,939 km)
Route 66 underwent many improvements and realignments. Most of those affected the total
mileage somewhat. One of those resulted in the movement of the endpoint from Los Angeles
to Santa Monica. Contrary to common belief, Route 66 never ran to the ocean.
33
-
Route 66 was a major path of the migrants who went west, especially during the Dust Bowl of
the 1930s, and supported the economies of the communities through which the road passed.
People became prosperous due to the growing popularity of the highway, and those same
people later fought to keep the highway alive even with the growing threat of the new
Interstate Highway System.
US 66 was officially decommissioned (that is, officially removed from the United States
Highway System) on June 27, 1985 after it was decided the route was no longer relevant and
had been replaced by the Interstate Highway System portions of the road that passed
through Illinois, New Mexico, and Arizona have been designated a National Scenic Byway of
the name "Historic Route 66". It has begun to return to maps in this form.
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- KINDERGARTEN
- ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
- 4-YEAR HIGH SCHOOL:
- community colleges and universities (universities are usually bigger than colleges, and
primarily offer a larger scope of subject)
- * SAT
35
- the SAT is a standardized test for college admissions in the United States the SAT is
administered by the private Educational Testing Service (ETS) in the United States and is
developed, published, and scored by the College Board
- colleges and universities, charge tuition, no matter if they are private or public students often
have to work while studying or run for a scholarship
- inequalities in education: more money is spent for the education of a child living in a wealthy district
than a child living in a poor community that is why government participates in school financing
with 10%-15%
- 1965 Lyndon Johnson made the 1st major contribution of federal aid for education
- Great Society- an idea of greater equality and less poverty; providing remedial schooling
for children from poor families
- the Economic Opportunity Act (provides money for adult literacy programs and pre-school
education for poor children) and the Higher Education Act (offers government scholarships to needy
students)
* CONCEPCION PICCIOTTO
- Concepcion Picciotto (1945? - ), also known as Conchita or Connie, has lived in Lafayette
Square on the 1600 block of Pennsylvania Avenue, in Washington, D.C., across from the White House
since June 1, 1981 in protest of nuclear arms.
- born Concepcin Martn in Vigo, Spain, she emigrated to the United States at the age of 18.
She worked in New York at the Spanish consulate.; She fell in love with an Italian businessman and
married him at 21. However, a bitter separation and custody battle cost her her home, her daughter and
her job.
* JIM CROW LAWS
- the Jim Crow Laws were state and local laws enacted (donesen) in the Southern and border
states of the United States and enforced (provedeni) between 1876 and 1965
36
- they mandated "separate but equal" status for African Americans. In reality, this led to
treatment and accommodations that were almost always inferior to those provided to white Americans.
- the Jim Crow period or the Jim Crow era refers to the time during which this practice
occurred the most important laws required that public schools, public places and public
transportation, like trains and buses, have separate facilities for whites and blacks
37
- in 1964, King became the youngest man to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize (for his
work as a peacemaker, promoting nonviolence and equal treatment for different races)
- famous speech: I Have A Dream in front of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington
- on April 4, 1968, Dr. King was assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee
- in 1986, Martin Luther King Day was established as a United States holiday
- the Letter from Birmingham Jail or Letter from Birmingham City Jail, commonly but
incorrectly rendered Letter from a Birmingham Jail, was an open letter written on April 16, 1963 by
Martin Luther King, Jr., an American civil rights leader. King wrote the letter from the city jail in
Birmingham, Alabama, after a peaceful protest against segregation. The letter is a response to a
statement made by eight white Alabama clergymen (sveenici) on April 12, 1963 titled "A Call For
Unity" which agreed that social injustices were taking place but expressed the belief that the battle
against racial segregation should be fought solely in the courts and not taken onto the streets a way
of non-violent protest
- In Birmingham, Alabama, in the spring of 1963, King's campaign to end segregation at lunch
counters and in hiring practices drew nationwide attention when police turned dogs and fire hoses on
the demonstrators King was jailed along with large numbers of his supporters, including hundreds
of schoolchildren; his supporters did not, however, include all the black clergy of Birmingham, and he
was strongly opposed by some of the white clergy who had issued a statement urging African
Americans not to support the demonstrations.
- from the Birmingham jail King wrote a letter of great eloquence in which he spelled out his
philosophy of nonviolence
38
- her role in American history earned her an iconic status in American culture, and her actions
have left an enduring legacy for civil rights movements around the world
* MALCOLM X (1925-1965)
- during his life, Malcolm went from being a drug dealer and burglar to one of the most
prominent (istaknut) black nationalist leaders in the United States; he was considered by some as
a martyr of Islam and a champion of equality
- as a militant leader, Malcolm X advocated black pride, economic self-reliance, and identity
politics
- he ultimately rose to become a world-renowned African American/Pan-Africanist and
human rights activist a foe to Martin Luther King Jr. who advocated non-violent methods of protest
- the "X" in his surname is meant to symbolize the rejection of "slave names" and the absence
of an inherited (naslijeen) African name to take its place
* RUDY GIULIANI
- gained his first fame as a United States Attorney prosecuting high-profile cases including
ones against organized crime
- served as Mayor of New York City from 1994 to 2001, where he gained credit for reducing crime
and improving the quality of life in the city
- gained national attention for his leadership role during and after the September 11, 2001
attacks on the World Trade Center that led him to be named Time's 2001 Person of the Year and
receive an honorary knighthood for Queen Elizabeth II
- Republican Party
* NANCY PELOSI
- Speaker of the United States House of Representatives.
the highest-ranking female politician in American history
- following the Democratic Party's majority win in the 2006 Congressional elections, Pelosi
became the first woman, and first Italian American in U.S. history to hold the office
39
- no woman has ever been closer to the U.S. presidency
40
- an American politician, civil rights activist during the Civil Rights movement, and Baptist
minister
* JAMES DEAN (February 8, 1931 September 30, 1955)
- James Byron Dean was an American film actor.
- Dean's mainstream status as a cultural icon is best embodied in the title of his most cited role
in Rebel Without a Cause his enduring fame and popularity rests on only three films, his entire
starring output
- method acting acting in a natural way
- he was the first person to receive a posthumous Academy Award nomination for Best Actor
and remains the only person to have two such nominations posthumously
- 3 movies: East of Eaden, Rebel Without A Cause, Giant
* JOSEPH McCARTHY
- On 9th February, 1950, Joseph McCarthy, a senator from Wisconsin, made a speech
claiming to have a list of 205 people in the State Department that were known to be members of the
American Communist Party (late he reduced this figure to 57)
- McCarthyism is the term describing a period of intense anti-Communist suspicion in the
United States that lasted roughly from the late 1940s to the late 1950s. The term derives from U.S.
Senator Joseph McCarthy, a Republican of Wisconsin. The period of McCarthyism is also referred to
as the Second Red Scare, and coincided with a period of increased fears of Communist influence on
American institutions and espionage by Soviet agents.
* THE FREEDOM RIDERS
- the Freedom Rides were a series of nonviolent, direct demonstrations performed in 1961 as
part of the U.S. civil rights movement
- volunteers, African American and white, many of whom were college students, called
Freedom Riders, rode in interstate buses into the segregated southern United States to test the
1960 United States Supreme Court decision Boynton v. Virginia, (1960) 364 U.S. 454, which
outlawed racial segregation in interstate transportation facilities, including bus stations and railroad
terminals
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- a total of 436 Freedom Riders were arrested for trespassing, unlawful assembly, violating
state and local Jim Crow laws, etc.
- all but a very small number were sponsored by the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE)
while the others belonged to the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) they
followed on the heels of dramatic "sit-ins" against segregated lunch counters conducted by students
and youth throughout the south beginning in 1960
* THE BEATNICS (THE BEAT GENERATION)
- the Beat Generation was a group of American writers who came to prominence in the late
1950s and early 1960s
- Jack Kerouac's On the Road (1957), Allen Ginsberg's Howl (1956), and William S.
Burroughs' Naked Lunch (1959) are often considered their most important works
42
- Robert Hayden, Sterling Brown, Rita Dove, Maya Angelou, Lucille Clifton, Paul L. Dunbar,
Jean Toomer, Nikki Giovanni, Langston Hughes, Countee Cullen, Tupac Shakur, Gwendolyn Brooks,
Claude McKay, Anne Spencer, Arna Bontemps, June Jordan, Quincy Troupe, Alice Walker, Amiri
Baraka, Audre Lorde, Marcus Garvey, Etheridge Knight, James Weldon Johnson, Frances E.W.
Harper
the name Democratic Party was adopted during the presidency of Andrew Jackson
the Party believes that government should play a role in alleviating poverty and social
injustice; opposed to the use of torture against individuals apprehended and held prisoner by
the military of the U.S.; the allow same-sex marriages (eventhough there are divided
members) and all agree that discrimination on ground of someones sexual orientation is
wrong, and oppose to any kind of discrimination
43
-
the Democratic Party is PRO-CHOICE = women are free and have the right to choose
wheter they will keep the baby or do an abortion, all women should have access to birth
control (the support of public funding of contraception of poor women) THE
GOVERNMENT SHOULD NOT INTERFERE IN ABORTION DECISION
emphasizes the necessity of strict penalties for offenders and proetction of victims of
domestic violence
the Democrates are stronegest in the Northeast, upper Midwest and the Great Lakes Region
and in the bigger cities like New York, Chicago, Los Angeles,Boston, Washington D.C.
BARACK OBAMA the Senator of Illinois the only African American in the U.S.
Congress
founded in 1856 by Abraham Lincoln and a group of his followers and is oftenly reffered to
as the GOP Grand Old Party
emphasize on the role of corporate and personal decision making in fostering economic
prosperity
Reaganomics theory popularized by Ronald Reagan with the reduced income tax rates to
increase the GDP growth private spending is more efficient than government spending
favor to reduce illegal immigration to the U.S.; opposed to granting amnesty to illegal
aliens
PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION:
- The President and the Vice President are elected together in a Presidential election
- the President, is elected indirectly by the people, through electors of an electoral college
- electors (depends on the number and to avoid the direct election of the president) in
the beginning voted for whom ever the popular votes did too
- the number of senators + the number of members of the House of Representatives
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- ellectoral college gives a collective vote to a person
- in modern times, the electors virtually always vote with the popular vote ( popular votes =
votes that each person gives to the candidate; these are the votes that individuals give to a person) of
their state.
11. SEPARATION OF POWERS AND THE DEMOCRATIC PROCESS
- the early American way of life encouraged democracy
- the Declaration of Independence in 1776 proclaimed that all men are created equal and have
the right to Life, Liberty and the Pursuit (tenja) of Happiness
- The Constitution (1787)
- is the supreme law of the United States of America; it was completed in 1787 and adopted in its
original form on September 23, 1788 by the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania and later ratified by the people in conventions in each state in the name of "We the
People"
- has a central place in American law and political culture and its the oldest constitution for a
federal system in use
- states that the Church must not interfere in state matters
- divided the national government into 3 branches:
1. the legislative branch (The Congress)
- the Congress the highest body in the USA
- 15% of women in the Congress
- the Congress is made up of the House of Representatives and the Senate
- House of Representatives - members are elected on a 2-year term and have to be at least 25 years old and be an
American citizen for at least 7 years
- the number of members varies accordingly to the population of the state
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- each member represents a district (okrug) of his home state and the number of
districts is determined by census each 10 years
- in all, there are 435 representatives in the House + 3 independent candidates
- Nancy Pelosi the speaker of the House of Representatives
- the Senate
- each state has 2 senators, regardless of the population, which means that there is
100 senators in the Senate
- senators are elected on 6-year term
- to become a law, a bill must past both the House and the Senate once both bodies have
passed the same version of a bill, it goes to the president for approval
2. the executive (headed by the president)
- the president of the U.S. together with the vice president is elected to a 4-year-term
- a president may be elected to only 2 terms the president of U.S. is the most powerful
person in the world
- very important presidential campaign
- Who can be a president?
- must be a native-born (born in the USA), must be at least 35 years old and of good
health, has to have the support of the voters
- the celery of the president is 400,000$ per year + extra money for expenses, 20,000$
for official entertainment the president must pay the taxes as any other citizen!
- the vice president succeeding a president who dies and presiding over the Senate
- the presidents powers are formidable (znatne) but not unlimited the president may
veto any bill passed by the Congress (but veto can be overturned by 2/3 of the both houses of
Congress) the president is the commander-in-chief of the army has the authority to appoint
federal judges, including justices of the Supreme Court appoints the heads and senior officials
of departments and agencies
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- the president can be removed from the Office by the Constitution removing an official
from office requires two steps: (1) a formal accusation, or impeachment, by the House of
Representatives and (2) a trial and conviction by the Senate
- IMPEACHMENT = in the constitutions of several countries, impeachment is the first of
two stages in a specific process for a legislative body to remove a government official without that
official's agreement. The second stage is called conviction.
- impeachment requires a majority vote of the House; conviction is more difficult, requiring
a two-thirds vote by the Senate The vice president presides over the Senate proceedings in the
case of all officials except the president, whose trial is presided over by the chief justice of the
Supreme Court ( this is because the vice president can hardly be considered a disinterested partyif
his or her boss is forced out of office he or she is next in line for the top job)
- 2 presidents so far to be impeached:
1. Andrew Johnson (2 attempts) he was acquitted
2. Bill Clinton impeached in his 2nd term in the Office because of the Lewinsky affair
he was acquitted
* Richard Nixon in the Watergate affair was not impeached he is the only president that
resigned from the Office!
3. the judicial (federal courts)
- is headed by the Supreme Court = the only court specifically created by the Constitution
- 13 federal courts throughout the country federal judges are appointed for life or until
they retire voluntarily and they can be removed from office only by the process of impeachment and
trial in the Congress
- the Supreme Court meets in Washington D.C. consists of a chief justice and 8 associate
justices cases come to the Supreme Court on appeal from lower federal or state courts
- although the three branches are said to be equal, often the Supreme Court has the last word
on an issue the courts can rule a law unconstitutional, which makes it void most such rulings are
appealed to the Supreme Court, which is thus the final arbiter of what the Constitution means
- separation of powers this division gives each branch certain duties and substantial
independence from others
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- these 3 branches by the separation of one another get in the position of gridlock
gridlocks: basically, they can not do anything by themselves, they all have to agree on
whatever issue is the case
- Bill of Rights
- the 10 amendments added to the Constitution because of the misgivings during the
ratification of Constitution
- the rights that it guarantees are: the freedom of speech, the freedom of the press, the
freedom of assembly, the free exercise of religion, the freedom to petition, the people's right to
keep and bear arms, and the rights to be free of unreasonable search and seizure, cruel and
unusual punishment, and compelled self-incrimination
- the Bill of Rights also restricts Congress's power by prohibiting it from making any law
respecting establishment of religion and by prohibiting the federal government from depriving any
person of life, liberty, or property without due process of law
- in criminal cases, it requires indictment by grand jury for any capital or "infamous crime,"
guarantees a speedy public trial with an impartial and local jury, and prohibits double jeopardy