1. The geography of the United States. Geographical regions and natural landscapes.

Cultural regions in the U.S.A.

I. Geography and Natural Landscapes (source: Facts and Figures, mainly Wikipedia and other sites)

WA: Washington MO: Missouri SC: South Carolina

OR: Oregon AR: Arkansas ME: Maine
CA: California LA: Louisiana VT: Vermont
MT: Montana WI: Wisconsin NH: New Hampshire
ID: Idaho IL: Illinois MA: Massachusetts
NV: Nevada MS: Mississippi CT: Connecticut
WY: Wyoming MI: Michigan RI: Rhode Island
UT: Utah IN: Indiana NJ: New Jersey
AZ: Arizona KY: Kentucky DE: Delaware
CO: Colorado TN: Tennessee MD: Maryland
NM: New Mexico AL: Alabama AK: Alaska
ND: North Dakota OH: Ohio HI: Hawaii
SD: South Dakota GA: Georgia
NE: Nebraska FL: Florida
KS: Kansas NY: New York
OK: Oklahoma PA: Pennsylvania
TX: Texas WV: West Virginia
MN: Minnesota VA: Virginia
IA: Iowa NC: North Carolina

1
Official name: The United States of America

Location: North America, bordering both the North Atlantic Ocean and the North Pacific
Ocean, between Canada and Mexico

The United States of America: a federal (or presidential) republic of North America
including 50 states and the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands of the
United States, American Samoa, Guam, Wake and other Pacific islands

Continental United States: the District of Columbia and the 49 states on the continent of
North America

Conterminous United States ('the US proper'): the 48 contiguous states and the District of
Columbia

Area: 3,615,123 sq. mi. (9,363,859 sq. km.): somewhat more than 100 times larger than
Hungary; after Russia, Canada, and China, the fourth largest country in the world

Geography Trivia:

Largest state: Alaska (586,412 sq. mi.)

Smallest state: Rhode Island (1,214 sq. mi.)
Northernmost city: Barrow, Alaska
Southernmost city: Hilo, Island of Hawaii
Easternmost city: Eastport, Maine
Westernmost city: Lihue, Island of Kauai, Hawaii
Oldest national park: Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, Montana, Idaho (1872)
Longest river: Mississippi-Missouri (3,710 mi.)
Highest mountain: Mount McKinley, Alaska (20,320 ft.)
Lowest point: Death Valley, Calif. (- 282 ft.)
Largest gorge: Grand Canyon, Colorado River, Arizona (277 miles long, 600 ft. to 18 miles
wide, 1 mile deep)

Number of states: 50. A hundred years ago there were only 32 states in the Union. In this
century five new states were admitted: Oklahoma (1907), New Mexico and Arizona in 1912,
and Alaska and Hawaii in1959.

Capital: Washington, D.C. Area: 67 sq. miles; Population: 633,425 (metropolitan area:
3,250,822); Location: between Virginia and Maryland, on Potomac River. NOT in any of the
states.

Climate: mostly temperate, but tropical in Hawaii and Florida, arctic in Alaska, semiarid in
the great plains west of the Mississippi River, and arid in the Great Basin of the southwest;
low winter temperatures in the northwest are ameliorated occasionally in January and
February by warm Chinook winds from the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains

Terrain: vast central plain, mountains in west, hills and low mountains in east; rugged
mountains and broad river valleys in Alaska; rugged, volcanic topography in Hawaii
Natural resources: coal, copper, lead, molybdenum, phosphates, uranium, bauxite, gold, iron,
mercury, nickel, potash, silver, tungsten, zinc, petroleum, natural gas, timber

Natural hazards: tsunamis, volcanoes, and earthquake activity around Pacific Basin;
hurricanes along the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico coasts; tornadoes in the midwest and
southeast; mud slides in California; forest fires in the west; flooding; permafrost in northern
Alaska, a major impediment to development

The eastern United States has a varied topography. A broad, flat coastal plain lines the
Atlantic and Gulf shores from the Texas-Mexico border to New York City, and includes the
Florida peninsula. Areas further inland feature rolling hills and temperate forests. The
Appalachian Mountains form a line of low mountains separating the eastern seaboard from
the Great Lakes and the Mississippi Basin. The five Great Lakes (Superior, Michigan, Huron,
Erie and Ontario) are located in the north-central portion of the country, four of them forming
part of the border with Canada. The southeast United States contain subtropical forests and,
near the gulf coast, mangrove wetlands, especially in Florida. West of the Appalachians lies
the Mississippi River basin and two large eastern tributaries, the Ohio River and the
Tennessee River. The Ohio and Tennessee Valleys and the Midwest consist largely of rolling
hills and productive farmland, stretching south to the Gulf Coast. The central area drained by
the Mississippi, Missouri and Ohio Rivers is the grain basket of the country.

The Great Plains lie west of the Mississippi River and east of the Rocky Mountains. A large
portion of the country's agricultural products are grown in the Great Plains. Before their
general conversion to farmland, the Great Plains were noted for their extensive grasslands,
from tallgrass prairie in the eastern plains to shortgrass steppe in the western High Plains.
Elevation rises gradually from less than a few hundred feet near the Mississippi River to more
than a mile high in the High Plains. The generally low relief of the plains is broken in several
places, most notably in the Ozark and Ouachita Mountains, which form the U.S. Interior
Highlands, the only major mountainous region between the Rocky Mountains and the
Appalachian Mountains. The Great Plains come to an abrupt end at the Rocky Mountains. The
Rocky Mountains form a large portion of the Western U.S., entering from Canada and
stretching nearly to Mexico. The Rocky Mountains generally contain fairly mild slopes and
low peaks compared to many of the other great mountain ranges, with a few exceptions (such
as the Teton Mountains in Wyoming and the Sawatch Range in Colorado). In addition, instead
of being one generally continuous and solid mountain range, it is broken up into a number of
smaller, intermittent mountain ranges, forming a large series of basins and valleys.

West of the Rocky Mountains lies the Intermontane Plateaus (also known as the
Intermountain West), a large, arid desert lying between the Rockies and the Cascades and
Sierra Nevada ranges. The large southern portion, known as the Great Basin, consists of salt
flats, drainage basins, and many small north-south mountain ranges. The Southwest is
predominantly a low-lying desert region. A portion known as the Colorado Plateau, centered
around the Four Corners region, is considered to have some of the most spectacular scenery
in the world. It is accentuated in such national parks as Grand Canyon, Arches, and Bryce
Canyon, among others.

The Intermontane Plateaus come to an end at the Cascade Range and the Sierra Nevada. The
Cascades consist of largely intermittent, volcanic mountains rising prominently from the
surrounding landscape. The Sierra Nevada, further south, is a high, rugged, and dense
mountain range. It contains the highest point in the contiguous 48 states, Mount Whitney
(14,505 ft; 4,421 m). These areas contain some spectacular scenery as well, as evidenced by
such national parks as Yosemite and Mount Rainier. Desert predominates in the southwest,
where the climate and degraded soils keep population density to a minimum, and where you
really don't need much of a wind to see tumbleweed bouncing across the highway. Cross the
Sierra Nevada and you're on the West Coast, which was settled by Americans only 150 years
ago but has been on a headlong rush into the future ever since. West of the Cascades and
Sierra Nevada is a series of valleys, such as the Central Valley in California and the
Willamette Valley in Oregon. Along the coast is a series of low mountain ranges known as the
Pacific Coast Ranges. Much of the Pacific Northwest coast is inhabited by some of the
densest vegetation outside of the Tropics, and also the tallest trees in the world (the
Redwoods).

The Atlantic Coast is the most heavily populated area and retains strong traces of its European
heritage. This is where the oldest American cities such as Boston, New York, Washington and
Philadelphia are located, and where most of the major events in early American history took
place.

While the Atlantic coast is relatively low, the Pacific coast is, with few exceptions, hilly or
mountainous.

The low Atlantic coast and the hilly or mountainous Pacific coast foreshadow the leading
features in the distribution of mountains within the United States. The east coast Appalachian
system, originally forest covered, is relatively low and narrow and is bordered on the
southeast and south by an important coastal plain. The Cordilleran system on the western side
of the continent is lofty, broad and complicated having two branches, the Rocky Mountain
System and the Pacific Mountain System. In between these, lie the Intermontaine Plateaus.
Heavy forests cover the northwest coast, but elsewhere trees are found only on the higher
ranges below the Alpine region. The intermontane valleys, plateaus and basins range from
treeless to desert with the very arid region being in the southwest.

Both the Columbia River and Colorado River rise far inland near the easternmost members of
the Cordilleran system, and flow through plateaus and intermontane basins to the ocean.

The Laurentian Highlands, the Interior Plains and the Interior Highlands lie between the
two coasts, stretching from the Gulf of Mexico northward, far beyond the national boundary,
to the Arctic Ocean. The central plains are divided by a hardly perceptible height of land into
a Canadian and a United States portion. It is from the United States side, that the great
Mississippi system discharges southward to the Gulf of Mexico. The upper Mississippi and
some of the Ohio basin is the semi-arid prairie region, with trees originally only along the
watercourses. The uplands towards the Appalachians were included in the great eastern
forested area, while the western part of the plains has so dry a climate that its native plant life
is scanty, and in the south it is practically barren.

The United States shares land borders with Canada (to the north) and Mexico (to the south),
and a territorial water border with Russia in the northwest. The contiguous forty-eight states
are otherwise bounded by the Pacific Ocean on the west, the Atlantic Ocean on the east, and
the Gulf of Mexico to the southeast. Alaska borders the Pacific Ocean to the south, the Bering
Strait to the west, and the Arctic Ocean to the north, while Hawaii lies far to the southwest of
the mainland in the Pacific Ocean. The State of Hawaii is an archipelago in the Pacific
Ocean.

Alaska contains some of the most dramatic and untapped scenery in the country. Tall,
prominent mountain ranges rise up sharply from broad, flat tundra plains. On the islands off
the south and southwest coast are many volcanoes. Hawaii, far to the south of Alaska in the
Pacific Ocean, is a chain of tropical, volcanic islands, popular as a tourist destination for
many from East Asia and the mainland United States.

II. Geographical Regions (source: an excerpt from an unidentified book distributed in AmCiv
class)

Geographers do not agree on the most appropriate ways to subdivide the country. For a basic
orientation, one can divide the country into seven parts: (1) New England, (2) Middle
Atlantic, (3) the South, (4) The Middle West, (5) The Southwest, (6) Mountain, and (7) Pacific
Northwest. + Alaska and Hawaii, which will be treated separately at the end. These seven
regions provide a starting point for understanding differences in climate, landscape, history,
ethnic background and customs.

1. New England

States- capitals:
Connecticut- Hartford
Maine- Augusta
Massachusetts- Boston
 New Hampshire- Concord
Rhode Island- Providence
Vermont- Montpelier

Englishmen began the conquest of New England in the early 1600s. Virtually all of the
early settlers were Protestants. The region long maintained its Anglo-Saxon homogeneity, and
only in the middle of the nineteenth century did it began to acquire its present diversity, as
first the Irish and then many other immigrant groups arrived. The landscape retains many
features of the first English settlement, particularly in the layout of smaller towns, arranged
around village greens. The place names also sound English: New London, New Britain,
Plymouth, Cambridge, Northampton, Exeter, and Worcester, to name but a few.
The regional center is Boston. The city serves as an educational center for the nation
with its many different universities, including Harvard, Massachusetts Institute of Technology,
Boston University, Tufts, Northeastern University, Wellesley and many others. As a group,
New England’s universities include some of the most prestigious and expensive schools in the
nation, such as Yale, Trinity, Brown. This concentration of highly educated people has made
the region a center for computer companies, publishing and high-technology industries. It is
far from being agriculturally self-sufficient, importing most of its food, but it does export fish,
lumber, potatoes, tobacco leaves, and maple sugar.
New England gave birth to the American industrial revolution. Here was the first US
textile mills, the early machine tool industry, and the first arms industry. In New England, the
insurance business developed, and still finds its national center in Hartford, Connecticut. The
region, with its highly skilled work force, has a relatively low unemployment rate and is a
center of innovation and light manufacturing, as well as a supplier of high-tech military
technology. Connecticut alone has major manufacturers of jet engines, helicopters, and
nuclear submarines. Advanced computers are produced in Boston, and specialized machine
tools are an area specialty.
In the context of the USA, New England is old, traditional, and sophisticated.
Americans view it as a venerable place with a long history.
New England has also long served as a center of literary culture (Ralph Waldo
Emerson, H.D. Thoreau, H. Melville, N. Hawthorne, E. Dickinson)
Great strengths: skilled workers and educational institutions.

2. The Middle Atlantic States

States-Capitals:
Delaware- Dover
Maryland- Annapolis
New Jersey- Trenton
New York- Albany
Pennsylvania- Harrisburg

The middle of the eastern seaboard, which stretches from New York City to just north
of Washington, D. C., was settled primarily by immigrants from Holland, England, Germany
and France, with smaller groups from other countries. Dutch colonists came to present day
New York in 1624, and cities more than 200 kilometers inland still bear Dutch names, such as
Rotterdam and Amsterdam. The British came in the middle of the seventeenth century, seizing
the Dutch lands by force in 1664. Catholics settled in Maryland, and Quakers in Pennsylvania.
With these mixed ethnic and religious beginnings, the middle colonies soon turned into a
haven of religious toleration. Originally more diverse in language and religion than New
England, the Atlantic States proved to be a model of what the United States would become: a
patchwork of ethnic settlements and a mix of religions living in mutual tolerance.
Furthermore, in the city plans of New York and Philadelphia one can find the beginnings of
the grid pattern of urban design that spread westward across most of the nation, along with
many other cultural characteristics.
In colonial times this region produced more foodstuffs than either New England or the
South, and it remains important agriculturally, as New York and Pennsylvania possess some
of the best farm land in the nation, with more regular rainfall than most areas farther west.
Today the region remains a center of commerce, with four of the fifteen largest urban centers:
New York, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and Baltimore. It retains a remarkable economic
diversity, including coal mining and steel making, shipyards, every conceivable kind of light
industry, and of course the culture industry of New York: music, fashion, theatre, publishing,
painting, dance , television, radio, advertizing, and public relations. Since the late nineteenth
century New York has been the literary capital of the United States and a great deal of
American literature deals with the city, from Washington Irving to the Harlem Renaissance
writers of the 1920s, from Henry James to such contemporary writers a Norman Mailer, Philip
Roth, E.L. Doctorow, and Tom Wolfe.
However, while many Europeans fell that New York City must be the center of
American life, Americans often feel otherwise, because the cost of living there is very high,
and the population has shifted to other states in the South and West. Most if the major urban
centers of the Atlantic region have been losing population. Local industries have left for
warmer climates, where the energy costs are lower, where labor is less organized, and where
pollution control is at times more relaxed. The Atlantic area was the industrial center of the
nation form 1830 until roughly 1910.Today it remains prosperous and populous, but it
gradually has lost ground to other region with newer industrial plants and less fully exploited
resources. Many of the largest corporations in the USA are located in New York City, but a
number have moved away.

3. The South

States- capitals:
Alabama- Montgomery
Arkansas- Little Rock
Florida- Tallahassee
Georgia- Atlanta
Kentucky- Lexington
Louisiana- Baton Rouge
Mississippi- Jackson
North Carolina- Raleigh
South Carolina- Columbia
Tennessee- Nashville
Virginia- Richmond
West Virginia- Charleston

Since 1950 the South has been the most populous and the fastest growing region of the
USA, with one third of the nation’s population. It has always been an important region.
Virginia was the first area the British settled; colonists arrived in 1607. English Protestants
were the largest group of settlers in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, establishing a
vigorous agricultural system based on tobacco, sugar and cotton. They imported Africans and
made them slaves to provide the brute labor needed to clear the land and plant these cash
crops.
The psychological division of the USA into a distinct North and South took place
primarily during the first half of the nineteenth century. The North was rapidly industrializing
and developing large cities, while the South remained agricultural and relied upon slave labor.
The North needed the cotton produced in the South for its textile mills, and the nation as a
whole received the bulk of its foreign exchange from agricultural exports.
In the 19th century, the South and its slave system expanded westward. The federal
government purchased Florida from Spain in 1819, and more states (often called the new
South) were added to the region as settlers moved as far west as the Mississippi River.
Because of the plantation economy, the South did not develop large cities until the 20 th
century, with the exception of New Orleans. Its canals, roads, railroads and industries were in
every way inferior to those of the North until after WWII, and this discrepancy helps to
account for the South’s lost in the Civil War of 1861-1865.
After the war, the South entered a long period of stagnation. Only in the past forty
years has the region begun to industrialize rapidly, with the result that at present it is one of
the most dynamic regions of the nation. The so-called “sun-belt”, a broad tone of economic
development, begins in Florida and stretches through Texas across the country to Southern
California. Jimmy Carter’s election as President registered the growing power of the South,
which has sent only one other man to the White House (Woodrow Wilson, 1912-1920) in the
previous one-hundred years.
Centers: Atlanta, Miami, Tampa, Memphis, Tennessee, New Orleans, Louisiana,
Chapel Hill.
With urbanization and industrialization the South has come to resemble the North far
more than it did fifty years ago. Today African Americans vote in great numbers, the mayors
of many Southern communities are black, segregation in public places has been abolished,
and the incidence of inter-racial violence had greatly diminished.

4. The Middle West

States- capitals:
Illinois- Springfield
Indiana- Indianapolis
Iowa- Des Moines
Kansas- Topeka
Michigan- Lansing
Minnesota- St. Paul
Missouri- Jefferson City
Nebraska- Lincoln
North Dakota- Bismarck
Ohio- Columbus
South Dakota- Pierre
Wisconsin- Madison

The Middle West is 823, 210 square miles of flat or gently rolling countryside,
extending a thousand miles from the Appalachians to the Rocky Mountains. It includes the
area drained by the northern half of the Mississippi River and its two major tributaries, the
Ohio and the Missouri. It is one of the richest agricultural areas in the world, and is source of
American exports of corn, wheat, soybeans, and other agricultural products. The Middle West
also contains much of the heavy industry of the United States, including steel mills, chemical
works, and factories for automobiles and farm equipment. Most of its important cities are
located in the Mississippi river system or on the Great Lakes – the largest fresh water lakes in
the world – which border Canada. The biggest city, Chicago, connects these two great water
systems of lakes and rivers. Detroit, center of automobile industry, lies at the point on the
Great Lakes where entry into Canada than anywhere for hundreds of miles in either direction.
Minneapolis and St. Paul, the so-called “Twin Cities” sit on either side of the Mississippi
River at its most northerly navigable point. Other major cities (St. Louis, Kansas City, etc.)
stand at strategic points on water routes. Railroads and highways later connected these cities
in additional transportation networks, reinforcing their importance.
The entire area was settled quickly. It took the first colonists 150 years to reach the
Appalachian Mountains that form the region’s eastern edge. Then, between 1800 and 1860,
the settlers poured west, creating the Middle Western states in a single lifetime. Like Lincoln,
many presidents have come from the Middle West. Not only is the region populous and
powerful, but its citizens combine qualities of North and South, East and West. For most
Americans, the Middle West seems to typify the nation, and indeed the ideal commentator on
American television ought to have a Nebraska accent.
Many 20th century American writers came from and wrote about the Middle West, e.g.:
Willa Cather, Sinclair Lewis, Sherwood Anderson, Theodore Dreiser, F. Scott Fitzgerald, T. S.
Eliot.
In recent years the region has suffered economically. Detroit has only partially
recovered from the challenges of European, Japanese, and Korean automobiles. The heavy
steel industry has virtually collapsed under pressures from abroad. The area has become
known as the “rust belt” in contrast to the growing Southern “sun belt”. But not every part of
the Middle West has been so hard hit: Minneapolis is developing rapidly into a major cultural
center, and Chicago is the third largest metropolitan region in the USA, and lies in the heart of
the country.

5. The South West

States- capitals:
Arizona- Phoenix
California- Sacramento
New Mexico- Santa Fe
Oklahoma- Oklahoma City
Texas- Austin

First explored by Spanish at the end of the 16 th century, the South West was part of
Mexico, until the USA conquered the region in the Mexican- American war of 1848. The area
seized included the present states of Texas, Arizona, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Colorado, and
most of Nevada and California. In this arid country the Spanish had found Native American
tribes with sophisticated cultures, particularly the Hopi, Navajo, and Apache, all of whom
survive in the region today. Since 1848 millions of newcomers migrated into this region from
both the rest of the USA and from Mexico, with a very large influx since WWII. Today, ten
million Hispanics live here.
The Southwest has arisen from the poverty of the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl
to be the most dynamic market in the USA. Six of the largest American cities are now in this
area: Los Angeles, San Diego, San Antonio, Houston, and Dallas, with a seventh, San
Francisco, at the border with the Pacific Northwest. These cities have all more than doubled in
population during a single generation, while those of the east have stagnated. Los Angeles is
now the second largest metropolitan area in the country. The population increase in this region
has given it more political power, with many voting for conservative candidates, such as
Ronald Reagan and George Bush.
The Southwest has grown for many reasons. Extensive irrigation projects opened up
new lands to agriculture. The warm dry climate has attracted both retired people and many
light industries, which have selected the area for new factories. The defense industries are also
string in the area, partly because the Federal government has built many airfields, testing sites,
and ports in the region. The area has also extensive mineral wealth, particularly oil, coal,
copper, uranium, natural gas, and potassium salts. Texas, of course, has long been a world
center of oil business, while the aircraft industry has built many plants in California.
One myth about this region, reinforced by many films, is that it is mostly desert. Yet
New Mexico, one of the driest states in the nation, has over eighteen million acres of
timberland, and more than two million head of cattle or other livestock. Nor is the South West
necessarily hot.
Tourists visit the region summer and winter to see its many National Parks, to escape
the cold, to go skiing, and to see the stark contrasts of the landscape. (e.g.: Grand Canyon in
Arizona)

6. The Mountain States

States- capitals:
Colorado- Denver
Idaho- Boise
Montana- Helena
Nevada- Carson City
Utah- Salt Lake City
Wyoming- Cheyenne

Few people live in the Mountain States. In each state, the climate is too dry for
intensive farming without irrigation, and water rights are bought and sold like property itself.
Land that cannot be irrigated is usually used for cattle ranching or forestry. This is also a great
mining region, with large reserves of coal, oil, zinc, lead and other minerals. Mining was
central to the region’s early development, as discoveries of gold, silver, lead, and copper drew
many settlers and investors to Colorado, Montana and Nevada. Mines created most of the
early urban centers: Virginia City, Nevada, Butte, Montana, Deadwood, South Dakota,
Leadville, Colorado. They first stimulated the regional economies and made many railroad
lines economically feasible. They attracted outside investments. The region’s few cities,
Denver and Salt Lake, drew much of their early wealth from proximity to gold and silver
mines.
Resource development is complicated today by the Federal Government’s extensive
land holdings. Not only are many of the National Parks here, including Yellowstone, The
Grand Tetons, Mesa Verde, Glacier, and Rocky Mountain National Parks, but the Department
of the Interior controls other lands that amount to as much as one third of some states. Forest
reserves, wilderness areas protected from development, wildlife refuges, and Native-
American reservations (also administered from Washington) fill large sections of the map,
collectively protecting the ecology. Despite the tourism brought in by this landscape, however,
many residents want more exploitation of the protected lands.
 With a metropolitan population of 1.8 million Denver is the regional center. Its local
economy reflects the nature of the region: it is not mixed enough to be stable, as it reacts to
changes in the oil, mining, and cattle business, as well as changes in land values. Salt Lake
City, Utah is the second largest city, named after the nearby lake which is five times saltier
than the Atlantic Ocean. Most Americans recall not the lake but the settlement of the area by
the Mormons who sought to escape from persecution by moving there in the 19th century.

7. The Pacific North West

States- capitals:
Oregon- Salem
Washington- Olympia
+ the Northern pat of Colorado (important city: San Francisco)

In terms of climate, the Pacific North West is two regions, split by a range of
mountains that runs from north to south. The western side is an area of heavy rainfall, cool
summers and moderate winters. To the east is drier, with more climatic extremes.
Geologically the whole area is new. The mountains are still rising, and both volcanic eruptions
and earthquakes are common.
As Anglo- Americans displaced the Native Americans after 1850, they developed an
enormous logging industry, soon accompanied by a strong agricultural sector that today
includes the famous California wine vineyards and the apple orchards of Washington. Yet the
area has not been overdeveloped. By the time the railroad had come so had national interest in
preserving parks, wilderness areas, and forest lands. As a result, in Oregon and Washington
the Federal government owns land equivalent to Austria and Switzerland combined.
With the exception of Spokane, Washington, all the largest cities lie on the Pacific
coast: San Francisco at the border with the Southwest, Portland on the Columbia River, and
Seattle at the Canadian border on Puget Sound. Like much of the west, which is the most
heavily urbanized region in the USA, all three cities have grown rapidly since WWII, spurred
in part by their aircraft construction corporations and other high tech concerns. Growth has
been so rapid that Oregon and Washington actively discourage in-migration, hoping to keep
the present balance between agriculture and industry, nature and civilization, which makes
this such an attractive area. Politically, this region is distinctly more liberal than the
Southwest. Its climate and its life style resemble those of Denmark or Norway more than
other areas of the USA, perhaps not incidentally because many Scandinavians emigrated to
this region.
San Francisco has been the literary capital of the West since 1865, thanks to the
writers: Mark Twain, Frank Norris, Jack London, William Saroyan, Lawrence Ferlinghetti,
Ken Kessey.

8. Alaska and Hawaii

Bought from the Russian czar in 1867 for $7 million, Alaska remained a territory until
1959, when it became by far the largest state. Just its national parks are larger than the entire
state of California. However, Alaska has a tiny population of only 500,000, most of whom
live along the state’s southern rim where the ocean keeps temperature moderate. Lying at
about the same latitude than Norway, but more than four times its size, Alaska has similar
geographical features: many off-shore islands, long fjords, and snow capped mountains. The
two regions also resemble each other economically, with large fishing and logging industries
and huge oil reserves. The difference is that Alaska’s oil has been found not at sea but far
north of the Arctic Circle. Only the original Eskimo inhabitants and a few scientists lived in
the north until oil companies arrived, drilled for oil, and built a pieline all the way from
Proudhoe Bay in the Arctic Ocean to Valdez in Prince William Sound. For the state as a whole
oil exportation has produced so much wealth that income taxes been abolished and instead
residents actually receive an oil dividend that is usually close to $1000 a year per person.
Despite such direct personal benefits, however, Alaskans have gradually become more
attentive to the pleas of conservationists, who want to protect the state from too much
development. Many Americans see Alaska as the last frontier.
Hawaii was annexed as a Unites States territory in 1898. Before then, although
independent it had already been colonized unofficially by Americans with interests in
shipping and tropical agriculture. Hawaii became a State virtually at the same time as Alaska
and is so unique that it can hardly be compared with any other American region. A cluster of
volcanic islands several time tones away from the west coast in the midst of the Pacific,
Hawaii is actually somewhat larger than most people realize, about the size of Connecticut
and Rhode Island combined. Its climate varies little from month to month. Hawaii has not
only a unique geographical location but an entirely different population composition than the
mainland. Fully 25% of its one million people are Japanese- Americans, descended from
immigrant laborers brought in to work the sugar and pineapple plantations. An additional 20%
of the population comes from other Asian countries. Only 2 % of the population is African
American, ad 8 % is Hispanic. The resulting mix is unique to the island, where whites
constitute little more than a third of the 1 million inhabitants. Agriculture is still important
here, but increasingly the land has been used for other purposes. Hawaii is a strategic air and
naval base and extremely popular with tourists, not only from the UA and Canada, but also
from Japan and other countries of the Far East.

Alternative divisions: (you do not have to learn all of these, but since there is no standard
division, it is good to know that there are others apart from the above detailed.)

Region Definition

Atlantic States All states Maine to Florida that are near to or border on Atlantic Ocean

East All states east of the Mississippi River

Middle Atlantic States Delaware, District of Columbia, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania

Rocky Mountains to Allegheny Mountains, North of Ohio River and southern border of Missouri and
Middle West Kansas: Illinois, Iowa, Indiana, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota,
Ohio, South Dakota, Wisconsin

New England Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont

East of Mississippi River, North of Ohio and Potomac Rivers: Connecticut, Delaware, District of
Northeastern States Columbia, Illinois, Indiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Hampshire, New
Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Wisconsin

Northern part of US between western edge of Lake Superior and Pacific Ocean: Idaho, Iowa, Kansas,
Northwestern States Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota, Washington,
Wyoming

Northwest, Pacific Old Oregon country: Idaho, Oregon, Montana, Washington, Wyoming

Pacific States Alaska, California, Hawaii, Oregon, Washington

Rocky Mountain Region Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, Wyoming

South Atlantic States Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia

South of Mason-Dixon Line and Ohio River, from western Texas border to the Atlantic Ocean:
Southern States Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma,
South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, West Virginia

Corresponds to old Spanish province of New Mexico including Arizona, California, Colorado,
Southwest, New
Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah

Southwestern US before cessions of land from Mexico following Mexican War: Arkansas, Kentucky,
Southwest, Old
Louisiana, Missouri, Tennessee, Texas

Southern US West of Mississippi River: Arkansas, Arizona, California, Colorado, Louisiana, Nevada,
Southwestern States
New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas, Utah

West All states west of the Mississippi River

 Laurentian Upland - part of the Canadian Shield that extends into the northern
United States Great Lakes area.
 Atlantic Plain - the coastal regions of the eastern and southern parts includes the
continental shelf, the Atlantic Coast and the Gulf Coast.
 Appalachian Highlands - lying on the eastern side of the United States, it includes
the Appalachian Mountains, Adirondacks and New England province.
 Interior Plains - part of the interior continental United States, it includes much of
what is called the Great Plains.
 Interior Highlands - also part of the interior continental United States, this division
includes the Ozark Plateau.
 Rocky Mountain System - one branch of the Cordilleran system lying far inland in
the western states.
 Intermontane Plateaus - also divided into the Columbia Plateau, the Colorado
Plateau and the Basin and Range Province, it is a system of plateaus, basins, ranges
and gorges between the Rocky and Pacific Mountain Systems. It is the setting for the
Grand Canyon, the Great Basin and Death Valley.
 Pacific Mountain System - the coastal mountain ranges and features in the west coast
of the United States.

III. Cultural regions (source: America in Close-Up)

The United States is a spacious country of varying terrains and climates. Much of the
land is uninhabited. The population is concentrated in the Northeast, the South, around the
Great Lakes, on the Pacific Coast, and in metropolitan areas dotted over the remaining
expanse of land in the agricultural Midwest and Western mountain and desert regions. Each of
the countries for main regions – the Northeast, the South, the West and the Midwest –
maintains a degree of cultural identity. People with a region generally share common values,
economic concerns, and a certain relationship to the land, and they usually identify to some
extent with the history and traditions of their region. Today, regional identities are not as clear
as they once were. As with most modernizing nations, the United States has seen its regions
converge gradually. While important regional differences are discernible, the mobility of
people and the diffusion of culture through television and other mass media have greatly
advanced the process of Americanization.

1. The Northeast

The Northeast, comprising of New England and Mid-Atlantic states, has traditionally
been at the helm of the nation’s economic and social progress. Compared with other regions,
the Northeast is more urban, more industrial, and more culturally sophisticated. New
Englanders often describe themselves as thrifty, reserved and dedicated to hard work, qualities
they inherited from their Puritan forefathers. A sense of cultural superiority sets
Northeasterners apart from others. During the nineteenth century and well into this century,
the Northeast produced most of the country’s writers, artists, and scholars. New England’s
colleges and universities are known all over the country for their high academic standards.
Harvard is widely considered the best business school in the nation. The Massachusetts
Institute of Technology surpasses all others in economics and the practical sciences.
The economic and cultural dominance of New England has gradually receded since
the Second World War. In the past decades, businesses and industries have been moving to
warmer climates in the South and West. Many factories and mills have closed, and the
population has stabilized or even declined. While areas of aging industry continue to suffer,
some parts of New England are experiencing economic recovery. New high-tech industries
are boosting foreign investment and employment.

2. The South

Regional identity has been pronounced in the South, where the peculiarities of
Southern history have played an important role in shaping the region’s character. The South
was originally settled by English Protestants who came not for religious freedom but for
profitable farming opportunities. Most farming was carried out on single family farms, but
some farmers, capitalizing on tobacco and cotton crops, became quite prosperous. Many of
them established large plantations. African slaves, shipped by the Spanish, Portuguese and
English, supplied labor for these plantations. These slaves were bought and sold as property.
Even though the system of slavery was regarded by many Americans as unjust, Southern
slave-owners defended it as an economic necessity.
Even after the North began to industrialize after 1800, the South remained agricultural.
As the century progressed, the economic interest of the manufacturing North became ever
more divergent from those of the agrarian South. Economic and political tensions began to
divide the nation and eventually led to the Civil War (1861-1865). Most Northerners opposed
slavery. The unresolved dispute over slavery was one of the issues which led to a national
crisis in 1860. Eleven Southern states left the federal union and proclaimed themselves an
independent nation. The war that broke out as a direct result was the most bloodiest war in
American history.
With the South’s surrender in 1865, Southerners were forced to accept many changes,
which stirred up bitterness and resentment towards Northerners and the Republican party of
the national government. During the post-war period of reconstruction which lasted until
1877, slavery was not only abolished, but blacks were given a voice in Southern government.
Southerners opposed the intervention of Northern Republican politicians. For the next century
white Southerners consistently voted for Democrats. The Civil War experience helps explain
why Southerners have developed a reverence for the past and a resistance to change, and why
the South is different from the rest of the country. Other regions have little in common with
the South’s bitterness over the Civil War, its one-party politics, agrarian traditions and racial
tensions.
Recent statistics show that the South differs from other regions in a number of ways.
Southerners are more conservative, more religious, and more violent than the rest of the
country. Because fewer immigrants were attracted to the less industrialized Southern states,
Southerners are the most “native” of any region. Most black and white Southerners can trace
their ancestry in this country back before 1800. Southerners tend to be more mindful of social
rank and have strong ties to hometown and family. Even today, Southerners tend to have less
schooling and higher illiteracy rates than people from other regions, and pockets of poverty
are scattered through the Southern states.
Americans of other regions are quick to recognize a Southerner by his/her dialect.
Southern speech tends to be more slower and more musical. The Southern dialect
characteristically uses more diphthongs: a one-syllable word such as yes is spoken in the
South as two syllables, ya-es. In addition, Southerners say “you all” instead of “you” as the
second person plural.
The South is also known for its music. In the time of slavery, black Americans created
a new folk music, the negro spiritual. Later forms of black music which began in the South
are blues and jazz. White Southerners created bluegrass mountain music, and most American
country music has a Southern background.
The South has been one of the most outstanding literary regions in the twentieth
century. Novelists such as William Faulkner, Robert Penn Warren. Thomas Wolfe, and Carson
McCullers have addressed themes of the Southern experience such as nostalgia for the rural
Southern past.

3. The West

Wide regional diversity makes the West hard to typify. While most of the mountain
West is arid wilderness interrupted by a few urban oases, California has some of the richest
farmland in the country, and, along with Oregon and Washington in the rainy Northwest, does
not share the rest of the West’s concern over the scarcity of water. California is different in
other ways. The narrow band along its Southern Pacific coast is densely populated and highly
industrial. By combining the nation’s highest concentration of high-tech industries,
California’s progressive economy is a trend-setter for the rest of the nation as it enters a new
post-industrial age.
Even if one disregards the Pacific coast states, the rest of the West is marked by
cultural diversity and competing interests. Mormon-settled Utah has little in common with
Mexican influenced Arizona and New-Mexico. The aims of Western commercial developers
anxious for quick profit clash with environmentalists’ campaigns for preservation of the
region’s natural beauty. Montana ranchers have different needs and different outlooks form
the senior citizens clustered in a retirement community near Phoenix.
While generalizations about the West are difficult to make, the region does share
concerns that are distinct from the rest of the country. Westerners are united in their long-
standing hostility toward Washington and Eastern federal bureaucrats. Westerners feel
alienated by government policies which fail to address the vital concerns unique to their
region. Western states’ troubles with water scarcity and government-owned land seem to
matter little to the rest of the country. Particularly distressing to Westerners is their lack of
control over Western land and resources. The federal government owns and administers vat
proportion of land in many Western states. Westerners like to think of themselves as
independent, self-sufficient, and close to the land, but they feel they cannot control their own
destiny while Washington controls their land.
 Western life is dominated by resources. Although water is scarce in the Mountain
West, the region is rich in uranium, coal, crude oil, oil shale, and other mineral deposits. As
the population of the West rapidly increases, debate intensifies over how its resources should
be used. Trying to support growing populations with limited supplies of water while at the
same time preserving the land is, according to some Westerners, impossible, and they feel the
West is already experiencing physical growth. Despite the differences that may exist within
the region, the Western states face these problems together.

4. The Midwest

While the South and West have felt alienated, the Midwest, by contrast, has long been
regarded as typically American. The fertile farmland and abundant resources have allowed
agriculture and industry to thrive and to strengthen the Midwesterns’ conviction that people
can make something of themselves if they seize opportunities. Class divisions are felt less
strongly here than in other regions; the middle-class rules. Midwesterns are seen as
commercially-minded, self-sufficient, unsophisticated, and pragmatic.
The Midwest’s position in the middle of the continent, far removed from the east and
wets coasts, has encouraged Midwesterns to direct their concerns to their domestic affairs,
avoiding matters of wider interest. The plains states which make up America’s “Farmbelt”
have traditionally favored a policy of isolationism in world affairs. However, now that
American agriculture has become dependant on unstable foreign markets, farmers have
changed their stance. Farmers are no longer isolationists or opposed to “big government.” It is
often this very government which provides subsidies and price controls that preserve their
incomes.
The Midwest is known as a region of small towns and huge tracts of farmland where
more than half the nation’s wheat and oats are raised. Dominating the region’s commerce and
industry is Chicago, the nation’s second largest city. Located on the Great Lakes, Chicago has
long been a connecting point for rail lines and air traffic crossing the continent.

Americanization: The distinctiveness of these regions is disappearing. They are becoming

ever more alike due to the homogenizing influence of mass media and regional convergence
towards national socioeconomic norms. Since the WWII, interstate highways and
communication lines have connected isolated and rural areas to urban centers, fostering a high
level of cultural interchange. Television has conveyed mainstream American culture to
everyone, giving Americans a shared national experience and identity.

Mobility: Americans’ mobility has also played an important role in leveling off regional
differences. Americans have always been on the move in pursuit of opportunity. Steady
movements from farms to city, east to west, and south to north brought about an intermixing
of cultures. This process of Americanization has been accelerated by new migration trends.
Poorer, less populous areas in the South and West are experiencing tremendous growth as
people and businesses move out of the historically dominant Northeast and Midwest in search
of new opportunities in warmer climates. The new migration has brought economic prosperity
to the warm “Sunbelt” while economic stagnation has occurred in the “Frostbelt.”

(well, I couldn’t really insert this into anywhere, but since we covered this in history classes,
maybe they will ask about this):
The Deep South: a descriptive category of cultural and geographic subregions in the
American South. Historically, it is differentiated from the "Upper South" as being the states
which were most dependent on plantation type agriculture during the antebellum period. The
Deep South was also commonly referred to as the Lower South or the "Cotton States". Today,
the Deep South is usually delineated as being those states and areas where things most often
thought of as "Southern" exist in their most concentrated form. (Louisiana, Alabama,
Mississippi, Georgia, and South Carolina.)

The Old South: geographically, a subregion of the American South, differentiated from the
"Deep South" as being the Southern States represented in the original thirteen American
colonies, as well as a way of describing the former lifestyle in the Southern United States.
Culturally, the term can be used to describe the antebellum period. (Virginia, Delaware,
Maryland, Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina.)

The New South: usually including the South Atlantic States.

Bible Belt: an informal term for an area of the United States in which socially conservative
evangelical Protestantism is a dominant part of the culture and Christian church attendance
across the denominations is extremely high. Much of the Bible Belt consists of the Southern
United States. Although exact boundaries do not exist, it is generally considered to cover
much of the area stretching from Texas in the southwest, north to most of Missouri, northeast
to Virginia, and southeast to northern Florida.

2. The American system of government (1). Federal and state institutions. Checks
and balances. The American Constitution and civil liberties. Constitutional
amendments. The judicial system: the courts and the law.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION & KEY TERMS:

FORM OF GOVERNMENT: representative democracy. All government power rests with the
people, who direct policies by voting for government representatives.

CONSTITUTION: it defines the powers of national and state governments, the functions and
framework of each branch of government, and the rights of individual citizens. All public
officials of the national and state governments must swear to abide by the Constitution, which
was created to protect the democratic interests of the people and government.

LIMITED GOVERNMENT: this principle is basic to the Constitution. To avoid the concentration
of power in the hands of a few, the following features were created:
1) the federal organization of government
2) the separation of powers among different branches of government (legislative,
executive and judicial)
3) a system of checks and balances to restrict the powers of each branch.

FEDERALISM: the principle of dividing authority between the central government and the
individual states. The federal (national) government, among other things, has the power to
control communications among states, borrow money, provide for the national defense, and
declare war. The states possess the power to establish its own criminal justice system, public
schools, and marriage and divorce laws. There are certain powers, called concurrent powers,
which both the federal and state government share. For example, the power to tax, set up
courts, and charter banks. (a detailed list is given in “Division of Powers”)

STATE LEVEL

Each American state had become independent as a consequence of the American Revolution
(1776-1783).
State and local governments came first, the federal government evolved later.
Most of the things that directly touch the lives of Americans are controlled at the state and
local level!!!
WHAT ARE THE STATES RESPONSIBLE FOR?
- build the majority of highways
- collect their own income taxes
- run all of the public schools and universities
- license all automobiles
- regulate the sale of alcohol and tobacco
- issue marriage licenses, building permits, birth certificates
- have their own police
- pass laws concerning gambling, hunting, fire arms, fishing and censorship
- each state writes its own business regulations
- the states have distinct legal systems

THE STRUCTURE OF NATIONAL (FEDERAL) GOVERNMENT

The basic form of the federal government was worked out in 1787 at the Constitutional
Convention.

I. CONGRESS

Congress is the legislative branch of the government. It is divided into two chambers: the
House of Representatives and the Senate.

Congress is independent from the president: no one elected to either chamber can be
appointed to any other government job at the same time!!! No member of Congress can be
arrested while attending sessions or while traveling to and from their meetings!!!

1. The House of Representatives

Each of the members of the House of Representatives in Washington comes not from a state
but from a district within a state, where he/she must seek reelection every two years – it is an
immediate link between the region and the nation – people often call or write them directly –
the representative is seen by the average citizen as an ally in the struggle against Washington.
Representatives represent the region’s citizens and interests in Washington.

There are no legal limits to reelection – many representatives stay in office for more than 30
years!
American politics is regional politics!

WHO ARE THE REPRESENTATIVES?

- candidates must be residents of the state districts where they run for office
- usually they are lawyers with extensive local connections
- in Washington they represent their particular region
- 435 representatives!

The distribution of seats in the House of Representatives is based upon population.

2. The Senate
Regardless of population, every state elects 2 Senators (100 from the 50 states).
Senators are usually former members of the House or former state governors. They are
elected for 6 year terms, and most of them get reelected. Every two years, one third of the
Senate stands for election.
Senators become independent of their parties.

Legislation
Most of the legislative work is done through the committee system, which forms the heart of
the legislative process.
Both the House and the Senate have their own committees, dealing with major topic areas,
such as labor, education, agriculture, the armed services, the budget, foreign affairs, and
finance. Each committee has sub-committees. Committees hold public hearings to which they
invite interested parties. The committees can request information from the Library of
Congress, which maintains a research staff of social scientists, historians, and other
researchers. Each congressman has at least one staff person whose main responsibility is
keeping up with the committee assignments.
HOW DOES A BILL BECOME A LAW?
- Each house of Congress may initiate legislation. A law first begins as a “bill”
 - Once a bill is introduced, it is sent to the appropriate committee. The members of
the committee study it, and then send it to the Senate or House chamber where it
was first introduced.
- After a debate, the bill is voted on. If it passes, it is sent to the other house where it
goes through a similar process.
- The Senate may reject a bill proposed in the House of Representatives or add
amendments. If that happens, a “conference committee” made up of members from
both houses tries to work out a compromise.
- If both sides agree on the new version, the bill is sent to the president for his
signature. At this point, the bill becomes a law.

II. THE EXECUTIVE BRANCH

The executive branch is responsible for administering the laws passed by Congress.
The president of the United States is the head of the executive branch – he cannot be a
member of the Congress. He is elected to a 4-year term, and can be reelected to a 2 nd term.
The vice-president, who is elected with the president, is assigned to two constitutional duties:
to preside over the Senate; and to assume the presidency if the president dies, becomes
disabled, or is removed from office.

POWERS OF THE PRESIDENT:

- As chief executive, he appoints secretaries of the major departments that make up
the president’s cabinet.
- As head of state, he represents the country abroad, entertains foreign leaders, and
addresses the public.
- As director of foreign policy, he appoints foreign ambassadors, and makes treaties
with other nations.
- Commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces
- Head of his political party

CABINET
In all of his activities the president works with his cabinet, with a large White House staff, and
with the administrators he appoints to government agencies. The Cabinet is particularly
important. However, the cabinet is clearly subordinate to the president: it meets only at his
request, and no vote is taken unless the president asks for one.
13 major Cabinet Departments: Department of State, Treasury, Defense, Justice, Interior,
Agriculture, Commerce, Labor, Health and Human Services, Housing and Urban
Development, Transportation, Energy, and Education.

INDEPENDENT AGENCIES
The president also oversees many independent agencies, such as the National Aeronautics and
Space Administration (NASA) and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). These agencies do
not have representation in the Cabinet.
Most agencies were created in response to particular crises. After the stock market crash of
1929 came the Securities and Exchange Commission of 1934.

Bureaucracy is vast: once a law has been passed by Congress and signed by the president, it
often takes years before the bureaucracy writes all the rules and regulations that will put that
law into effect.
III. JUDICIAL BRANCH

The Constitution established a separate judicial branch of government which operates

independently alongside the executive and legislative branches. Within the judicial branch,
authority is divided between state and federal (national) courts.
The judicial branch is headed by the Supreme Court, the final interpreter of the Constitution.

State Courts
States have the power to establish their own systems of criminal and civil laws. Each state has
its own laws, prisons, police force, and state courts. Generally, state laws are quite similar, but
in some areas there is great diversity (e.g. minimum age for marriage, sentences for murder).

Federal Courts
The separate system of federal courts operates alongside the state courts. It handles cases
which arise under the US Constitution or under any law or treaty. It also hears disputes
involving governments or citizens of different states.
A case which falls within federal jurisdiction is heard first before a federal district judge. An
appeal may be made to the Circuit Court of Appeals, and, in the last resort, to the highest
court in the land: the US Supreme court.

3 levels of the judiciary:

- Supreme Court
- Courts of Appeals
- District Courts

1. Supreme Court of the United States

The Supreme Court hears cases in which someone claims that the lower court ruling is unjust
or in which someone claims that Constitutional law has been violated. Its decisions are final
and become legally binding.
Although the Supreme Court does not have the power to make laws, it does have the power to
examine actions of the legislative, executive, and administrative institutions, and decide
whether they are constitutional.

It is the highest judicial body in the United States, and leads the federal judiciary.
It consists of the Chief Justice of the United States and eight Associate Justices, who are
nominated by the President and confirmed with the "advice and consent" (majority vote) of
the Senate.
Once appointed, Justices effectively have life tenure, serving "during good Behavior", which
terminates only upon death, resignation, retirement, or conviction on impeachment.
The Court meets in Washington, D.C. in the United States Supreme Court building. The
Supreme Court is primarily an appellate court, but has original jurisdiction over a small range
of cases.

2. Courts of Appeals
A court of appeals decides appeals from the district courts within its federal judicial circuit,
and in some instances from other designated federal courts and administrative agencies.
Currently, there are thirteen United States courts of appeals.
3. District Courts
The United States district courts are the general trial courts of the United States federal court
system. Both civil and criminal cases are filed in the district court, which is a court of law,
equity, and admiralty.

Judicial review
It refers to the power of a court to review the actions of public sector bodies in terms of their
lawfulness, or to review the constitutionality of a statute or treaty, or to review an
administrative regulation for consistency with either a statute, a treaty, or the Constitution
itself.

CHECKS AND BALANCES

Each of the three branches is intended to act as a check upon the other two, creating a system
that could maintain its balance. The three branches are designed to restrict each another’s
activities, and to prevent the concentration of power in one branch of government at the
expense of the other two branches. In the system of “checks and balances” each part of
government can exert some control over the other parts.
Examples:
- The Congress can refuse to pass legislation the president desires; it can withhold
money needed for particular projects; it can investigate the president, and it can
impeach him from office.
- The president can delay laws that have been passed in Congress by refusing to sign
them; he can veto a bill outright
- The Supreme Court appears to be a silent partner in government, but it has the
ultimate power to declare any presidential action, administrative procedure, or
federal law unconstitutional.
(More examples given in “Separation of Powers and Checks and Balances”)

THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES

The Constitution of the United States of America is the supreme law of the United States. It
was drafted in 1787, and ratified on March 4, 1789.

It defines the powers of national and state governments, the functions and framework of each
branch of government, and the rights of individual citizens. All public officials of the national
and state governments must swear to abide by the Constitution, which was created to protect
the democratic interests of the people and government.

When this document was ratified by the states, the United States became the first government
in the world to have a written constitution.

Legal source of the Constitution:

- British Common Law
- Aristotle: idea of natural rights – you are born with certain rights
 - Rousseau: idea of social contract – the right to govern comes from the governed;
you give up some of your natural rights and entrust the government with certain
tasks; the contract can be terminated; people can remove the government –
impeachment (removing any federal officials from their office for misdemeanor)
- John Locke
- Montesquieu: The Spirit of the Laws

3 parts of the Constitution:

- Preamble: “We the People of the United States, in order to form a more perfect
Union, establish Justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common
defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to
ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United
States of America.”
o The Preamble does not grant any particular authority to the federal government
and it does not prohibit any particular authority. It establishes the fact that the
federal government has no authority outside of what follows the preamble, as
amended.
- 7 articles: separation of powers; Relation of the States to Each Other; How
Amendments are Made; General Provisions; Ratification
- 27 amendments:
o The first ten, collectively known as the Bill of Rights, were ratified
simultaneously in 1791.
o The following seventeen were ratified separately: e.g. the Reconstruction
Amendments (13th, 14th, 15th), Progressive Amendments (16th, 17th, 18th, 19th),
Equal Rights Amendment (27th)

CIVIL LIBERTIES
The rights of citizens in a democracy. They are listed in the Constitution: the Bill of Rights,
and the 14th (equal protection of laws), 15th (suffrage for African Americans), 19th (suffrage for
women) Amendments.
Bill of Rights:
1. Freedom of religion, speech, press, and assembly
2. Right to keep arms
3. Quartering of soldiers
4. Search and seizure; warrants
5. Rights of persons accused of crime
6. Right to speedy trial
7. Jury trial in civil cases
8. Excessive bail or punishment
9. Powers reserved to the people
10. Powers reserved to the states (the last 2 amendments spell out the idea that any
powers that are not given to the national government by the Constitution are kept
by the people and by the states)

3. The American system of government (2). Political parties and the election system.
The Electoral College. Lobbyism.
Election System

Elections are a forum for selecting leaders and for holding those leaders accountable
for the decisions they make while in office. They also provide a place to debate public policy.
They serve to link the people and their leaders, providing legitimacy for the government and
its politics.

The Structure of American Elections

A lot of public officials are elected in a four-year period in many different elections.
The typical voter is asked to select a governor, both houses of a state legislature & other
statewide offices, various county officials, municipal leaders such as mayor & city council &
school board, as well as vote on occasional ballot issues. The rules governing elections vary
from state to state. There are typically many offices to elect and multiple candidates for each
office.

Primary Elections & General Elections

There are two types of elections that are part of selecting public officials in the US: primary
elections & general elections.
In a primary election, voters select a political party’s nominee for elective office. Voting is
often restricted to party members.
Three methods are commonly used to decide contested party nominations in the US:
o Closed primaries: only allow registered members of a party to vote for that party’s
nominees. Most states use closed primaries.
o Open primary: voters not affiliated with a party may help select a party’s nominees
o Caucus system: an open meeting of all party members. Those in attendance discuss the
candidates and vote for the candidate of their choice.
In a general election, voters choose between party candidates – and sometimes independents
as well – to decide who will hold an elective office. All eligible voters may participate in the
general election. Voter turnout is much higher for general elections than for primary elections.

The Rules of the Election Game

Public officials are elected to fixed terms. The US Constitution sets the terms for federal
officials:
o House members – 2-year terms
o Senators – 6-year terms
o Presidents – 4-year terms

Congress has set the date of federal elections since 1845 as the first Tuesday after the first
Monday in November of even numbered years.
Fixed election dates can:
o Encourage those in power to try to work together to create favorable conditions to
enhance their chances for reelection
 o Encourage prolonged campaigns (1-2 year)

The selection of the legislature and the executive are separate and independent
elections – Congress and the president are each elected by the people in separate elections,
which, besides the different term lengths, emphasizes the independence of the House, the
Senate, and the president.
Elections are generally fought in winner take all, single member districts and are
decided by plurality. This means that in an electoral race candidates for a specific office are
running to fill one seat. The winner will be the candidate receiving the most votes - plurality
– regardless of whether that person garners an absolute majority (50 percent plus one vote) or
not.

Financing Election Campaigns

In the aftermath of the Watergate political scandal, Congress revised existing campaign
finance laws – the 1974 law:
o established contribution limits
o limited public financing for presidential elections, procedures that candidates had to
follow for their campaign funds
o established the Federal Election Commission (FEC) to enforce the law.

Elections are candidate-centered and not party-centered.

The Race for the White House: The Long Road

The process of running for and winning the presidency is arduous. It begins at least
two years before Election Day and formally continues until December of the election year.

Selecting Presidential Nominees

Since the 1830s, party nominations for president have been made by national party
conventions. These conventions are held in the summer of presidential election years wit the
purpose of choosing the party’s presidential candidate. Party delegates come together from
each state and cast ballots to select a candidate.
For most of the nation’s history, the public was largely excluded from the selection
process. The presidential nomination system was transformed in 1972 – the rule changes
encouraged the use of primaries and caucuses to determine whom delegates would support
and required that the delegates’ votes at the convention were based on the outcome of the
primary. These changes have shifted power from political parties to the candidates and the
voters (; earlier mainly party leaders selected most delegates).

Competing in the Primaries

Influencing the mass electorate is key to winning elections  candidates must raise a
great deal of money early in the process to have a real chance at success. A candidate must
also create a national organization.
Delegate selection begins in early February of the election year with the New
Hampshire primary & the Iowa caucuses, but fund-raising & organization begin 18 months
before, if not earlier.
Candidates spend a great deal of time in Iowa & New Hampshire trying to make a
good impression on the voters of those states and the nation. After these states are finished,
the primary season accelerates and the need for early fund-raising and campaign organization
is magnified.

The National Conventions

As primaries have become central in the nomination campaign, the national party
conventions have become less important. The outcomes of conventions are now known well
in advance, as the delegates simply formalize what was decided in primaries and caucuses
months earlier. The convention delegates still have the responsibility to ratify a platform and
finalize the rules for the next selection process.
They have become tightly controlled media events.

The General Elections

The general election for president is comprised of 50 independent state elections
conducted on the same day. The goal of each candidate is to accumulate a majority of the
electoral vote. When Americans vote, they are voting for electors who in turn choose the
president and vice president as part of the Electoral College.
Each state has the number of electoral votes equal to its total number of US senators
plus representatives. There are a total of 538 Electoral College votes.
In 48 of 50 states – Maine and Nebraska?? are exceptions – it is a winner take all
system. This means that all of a state’s electoral votes are awarded to the candidate with the
largest number of popular votes. The outcomes of the popular vote and the electoral vote are
not always in accord. On three occasions before 2000 –the elections of John Quincy Adams in
1824, Rutherford B. Hayes in 1876, and Benjamin Harrison in 1884 – the winner of the
popular vote has lost the election. If no candidate wins an electoral college majority, the
House of Representatives selects the president. The vice president is selected by majority vote
of the Senate.
Theoretically, a candidate can win a majority of Electoral College votes by winning
the popular election in the 11 largest states; second, votes in states that are seen as close are
especially valuable. Many states vote consistency Democratic or Republican.

Running for Congress: The Power of Incumbency

Relatively few races are competitive, and for the most part, the incumbent – the current
officeholder wins and is sent back to the nation’s capitol for another term. If there are multiple
candidates for a political party’s House or the Senate nomination, parties use primaries or
primaries in combination with party conventions to select congressional candidates in all 50
states. But in most cases, a single potential nominee emerges and is tabbed to run.
Once nominated the selected candidates run in the general election, where the winner
is the candidate receiving the most votes. Most senators running for reelection win.

Voting
The percentage of the voting age population that participates in elections is quite low.
Voter turnout for presidential elections is usually under 60 percent, and the percentage is even
lower for state and local elections.
Reasons:
 the US requires early voter registration
  election campaign tend to be much longer in the US than in other nations – many
Americans lose interest
 elections are held on Tuesdays
 the two-party system – voters’ choice is limited

Lobbyism
Political pressure groups seek to influence government. Lobbying is a form of
communication whereby an interest group interacts with public officials for the purpose of
influencing decision making.
Lobbying is the politics of access.1 Groups seek access to public officials who make
policy to present the group’s goals and objectives. Carol Greenwald argues that lobbyist
communication is an attempt to affect the behavior of individuals by supplying information.
A lobbyist, generally a lawyer or former legislator, is someone who not only
specializes in the interest he or she represents, but also possesses an insider’s view of the
lawmaking process. Lobbyists keep the interest group they work for informed about proposed
legislation and talk to decision-makers about their group’s concerns.
The term lobbyist often has a negative connotation. Public officials and others
sometimes resent lobbyists’ interference. Yet, besides voicing the concerns of a special group
in society, lobbyists fulfill important needs of decision-makers. Legislators often turn to them
for valuable data they would otherwise have to gather themselves. During the committee stage
in the legislative process, for instance, lobbyists are invited to appear before congressional
committees to provide advice & information, albeit one-sided, which will help the committee
make a decision.

Interest Groups

Def.: a group of individuals who band together seeking the support and resources of others to
achieve common goals. When the goal becomes to pressure government to enhance the
group’s objectives, it becomes a political pressure group.

Interest-Group Functions
 to promote members’ material rewards and benefits – e.g.: labor organizations strive to
push up wages to keep earning power ahead of inflation
 to perform social functions – e.g.: to reinforce one’s identity
 to formulate and articulate social issues & demands to government in a more or less
systematic manner

Interest
Groups actively engaged in lobbying are more successful than groups that are not.

Categories of Interest Groups

 occupational
1
Access: the contact with public officials that forms the basis for lobbying activity. It depends on reaching key
decision makers at key points in the political process.
 o business groups – National Association of Manufacturers
o labor groups – AFL-CIO (Am Federation of Labor/Congress of Industrial
Organizations)
o agriculture – Am Farm Bureau, National Farmer’s Union
o professional associations – Am Medical Association
 issue-oriented – the Right to Life Association (after the 1973 Court decision
permitting abortion); National Wildlife Federation
 ethnic – NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People)
 religious – the Religious Roundtable


Influence Techniques
 direct contact: presenting information or data to an administrator or legislative committee;
lobbyist consider direct contact most effective
 letter writing
 media campaign
 direct action (protest, picket, even threaten violence; boycotts, demonstrations)
 social & technical services (gratuities, free theater tickets, meals)
 electoral activities (seeking an alliance with political parties)
 campaign contributions- the political action committees 2 of interest groups give money for
political campaigns

Political Parties
The Constitution makes no mention of parties.
Def.: an organization whose goal is to elect its members to public office. In the US it is a
private association, although it performs public functions. It differs from an interest group in
that the goal of the latter is to affect policy, and to do this it elects its friends to office. The
goal of a party is to win elections, and its means of accomplishing this involve policy.

The three parts of the party:

 the party-in-government
o the elected or appointed officials who hold public office & belong to the party
e.g.: the president, the Cabinet
 the party-in-the-electorate
o voters who are identified with the party and are registered as party members
 the party organization
o people who campaign & help candidates win elections but who usually do not
themselves hold public office

Functions of parties
The functions center around one mission: to elect candidates to public office.

2
political action committee: a legal method for labor unions, professional associations, corporations, or other
organizations to solicit funds to be spent for political purposes
  competition: for political power; compatible with democracy because it results in alternative
positions being organized and offered to the citizens
 representation: different people and groups have found support and representation through
political parties
 organization: parties remain the basis for organizing the government.
 the party in power holds itself accountable to voters for its conduct in office
 the opposition party gives voters an alternative: they can replace the incumbents with the
challengers

There are two ways in which parties can perform these functions:
1. Responsible parties:
i. is organized around a set of principles,
ii. develop its program from them
iii. offer a clear alternative to voters
2. Coalition parties:
i. from a variety of racial, religious, ethnic, sectional, cultural, & occupational
constituencies
ii. principles are put in second place
iii. usually win by appealing to a broad middle ground

Party structure
It mirrors the structure of government:
 federalized
 decentralized
 split into legislative, executive, & judicial wings

These arrangements prevent the party organization from controlling the party-in-government

Federal structure
 the national parties are coalitions of 50 state parties
 on most matters the national party cannot give orders to county & local parties
 all units of the party are autonomous and can deal with other units as equals

Executive, legislative, & judicial parties

 the parties are organized around the major institutions of the national government & the state
governments
 the president, governors, majors – from the “executive party”
 the members of Congress & state legislatures – from the “legislative party”
 candidates for state & local judgeships – from the “judicial party”

Historically, three features have characterized the party system in the US:
1. two major parties alternating in power
2. lack of ideology
3. lack of unity and party discipline – disagreement among members of the same party is
common; personal views often have priority over party view; candidates & elected officials
are not held accountable for following the party line
Two-party system
The US has had only two major parties throughout its history. When the nation was
founded, two political groupings emerged – the Federalists and Anti-Federalists. Since then,
two major parties have alternated in power.
For over one hundred years, Am’s two-party system has been dominated by the
Democratic and Republican Parties. Neither party, however, has ever completely dominated
Am politics. On the national level, the majority party in Congress has not always been the
same as the party of the president. Even in years when one party dominated national politics,
the other party retained much support at state or local levels.
The two national parties are organized from the bottom up, in party committees which
compete for public office.
There are three ways in which a candidate is chosen:
 designation by a party committee
 nomination by a convention to which registered party voters have chosen
delegates
 nomination by a primary in which registered party voters have participated

Democrats – “liberal”: generally believe that the federal government and state
governments should provide social and economic programs for those who need them.
Republicans – “conservative”: they believe that many social programs are too costly
for taxpayers. They tend to favor big business & private enterprise and want to limit the role
of government
Party membership: no official initiation, no membership dues, no obligation to attend
meetings or even vote for the party.

Minor parties
While minor/third parties have appeared from time to time, they have been unable to
attract enough voters to enable them to assume power. Occasionally, a third party candidate
will win a seat in Congress or in a state legislature. In most cases, minor parties have been
assimilated by the larger two or have just faded away.
Examples: Socialist Labor Party, the Am Independent Party, the Peace and Freedom
Party, the Green Party

Media politics
For more than a century – from 1830 to 1960 – political power was exercised by
strong party organizations at the local or state levels. But power has shifted in modern times
to the party-in-government. Parties no longer have a monopoly on recruiting candidates for
office, on financing and running their campaigns, on mobilizing voters, or on providing a link
between the party-in-government and the party-in-the-electorate. All these functions are now
shared with the candidates’ own campaign organizations & political action committees (PAC).
Candidates communicate directly with voters by using radio, television (and the
internet…); in the era of new politics the amounts spent on advertising have skyrocketed.
To run a media politics campaign, the candidate must
 raise money
 create an image (e.g.: warm, concerned, committed to caring for people)
 communicate this image to potential voters
 mobilize the electorate
 Platform: the document, written at the national convention that specifies a party’s
position on issues

4. The ethnic composition of the American population. Major ethnic groups and
minorities. Immigration and federal immigration policies. Civil rights movements in
the U.S.A. Melting pot → cultural pluralism → multiculturalism.

Ethnic Composition of the American population

The Nation’s ethnic diversity is chiefly due to large scale immigration. The greatest numbers
went in the years between 1880 and 1914 (new immigration). Between 1820 and 1984, the US
admitted nearly 52 million immigrants. Whites (a mixture of over 40 ethnic groups) comprise
79.9 % (2007 census) of the population,

America's ethnic landscape also includes a rapidly growing Arab population, a sizeable
Jewish population, and other ethnic groups. But in the 1990s, the term "minority" usually
refers to four major racial and ethnic groups:

Blacks (or African Americans, Black Americans, formerly called Negroes) 12.8 %, over 30
million.

Asians, Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islander: 4.6 %

American Indians, Alaska Natives (Eskimo, Aleut): 1 %

Mexican-American: the fastest growing minority group (now about 60% of all Hispanics),
who make up the vast majority of illegal immigrants.

Major Ethnic Groups and Minorities

The 20th century has witnessed the transformation of the United States from a predominately
white population rooted in Western culture to a society with a rich array of racial and ethnic
minorities. As the century began, the U.S. population was 87 percent white. The nonwhite
minority was composed primarily of black Americans living in the rural South. At the
century's end, non-Hispanic whites account for less than 75 percent of the U.S. population.
The minority population is comprised of nearly as many Hispanics as blacks, surging numbers
of Asians, and a small but growing American Indian population. By the middle of the 21st
century, non-Hispanic whites will make up a slim and fading majority of Americans.
Hispanics will be nearly one-fourth of the U.S. population. Blacks, Asians, and American
Indians together will make up close to one-fourth of the population. "Minority" is likely to
have a very different meaning in the 21st century. Between 1980 and 1998, the minority
population increased 63 percent, compared with an 8 percent growth of the non-Hispanic
white population.

Most U.S. Asians come from recent immigrant families, but many can trace their family's
American history back more than 150 years. Much of this period was marked by legal and
social discrimination against Asians. Legislation enacted in 1790 excluded Asians and other
nonwhites from gaining U.S. citizenship by limiting citizenship to "free white" residents. This
racial requirement for citizenship formed the basis for excluding nonwhites from many
activities and rights. Because most Asians were foreign-born and were not citizens, some
states could legally keep Asians from owning land or businesses, attending school with white
students, or living in white neighborhoods." Asian immigrants were not eligible for U.S.
citizenship until 1952.

The 1879 California Constitution barred the hiring of Chinese workers and the federal
Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 halted the entry of most Chinese immigrants until 1943. The
1907 Gentleman's Agreement and a 1917 law restricted immigration from Japan and a "barred
zone" known as the Asia-Pacific Triangle.
American Indians also have a long history of social and legal oppression by European settlers
and the U.S. government. As many as 7 million indigenous people lived in North America
when the Europeans arrived. Yet disease, warfare, and in some cases, genocide, reduced the
Indian population to less than 250,000 by 1890. In the first half of the 19th century, the U.S.
government imposed treaties that forced Indians in the South and the Ohio River Valley from
their homelands. These forced migrations accelerated after President Andrew Jackson signed
the Indian Removal Act of 1830.

American Indians have occupied a unique legal status as members of self-governing,

independent tribes. Despite this special status, many members of these independent nations
live in poverty and encounter overt discrimination. American Indians became U.S. citizens
only after passage of the Indian Citizenship Act of 1924, which later was amended to include
Alaska Natives.

Hispanics

Mexican Americans in southwestern states lost property and political rights as Anglo
Americans began to move into the region in the 1800s. As late as the 1940s, local ordinances
in some Texas cities blocked Mexican Americans from owning land or voting. Mexican
Americans had to attend segregated public schools in many jurisdictions before 1950. (18.7
million)

There were relatively few Puerto Ricans on the U.S. mainland until World War II, when they
began moving to New York and other large cities of the Northeast. They encountered
widespread discrimination in education and employment and sometimes incurred the
resentment of blacks and other minorities who saw them as competitors for jobs. (3.1 million)

The Cuban American community was established by mostly white, well educated
professionals who fled the Communist government of Fidel Castro in the 1960s. But later
Cuban immigrants were generally poorer and less educated, and thus met considerable
resentment and discrimination from Americans. (1.6 million)

Black Americans

Slavery: The great empires of Ghana, Mali and Songhay were the places where the black
population was originated. If slavery was the ugliest blotches on American history, then the
slave trade is the ugliest portion of the story, especially the “middle passage”. It was not
uncommon that half of the “cargo” to die of disease, mistreatment, or the combination of the
two. The impact of the slave trade was broad and deep. Most obvious is the impact on the
people directly involved, possibly as many as 20 million over the centuries.

For American blacks, the struggle for equal rights has been long and often bitterly opposed.
When the Founding fathers asserted in the Declaration of Independence that “all men are
created equal” and possess inalienable rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness,
women and blacks were excluded. Not until after the Civil War ended in 1865 did blacks
begin to share in the most basic rights of citizenship. Three constitutional Amendments were
passed and ratified between 1865-1870.
13th Abolished Slavery

14th Gave blacks the right for citizenship

15th Gave the right to vote

Despite the constitutional provisions, Southern whites found ways to circumvent the intention
of the amendments. Racial prejudice was rationalized and industrialized in the South. Until
the modern civil rights movement, which began in the 1950’s, blacks were denied access to
public places, such as restaurants, hotels, theaters, and schools. There were separate facilities
marked: “colored only” for blacks, and this practice of racial segregation was sanctioned by
the courts. 1896 Supreme Court had rued that racial segregation was legal as long as “separate
but equal” facilities were provided.1954, counter rule in the case of Brown vs Board of
education Topeka the court ruled that separate schools for blacks and whites was
unconstitutional.

Civil Rights Movements

1950’s and the emergence of the Civil rights movement, the drive to bring about racial
equality, almost 100 years after Lincoln’s famous Emancipation proclamation and 3
subsequent constitutional amendments. the first showdown was the 1954 Brown vs. BofE
case when chief justice Earl Warren declared school segregation unconstitutional. 1955 the
Rosa Parks case. She refused to give up her seat to a white passenger on a bus in
Montgomery, Alabama. She was arrested for violating state segregation laws. in response
Afro-Americans with the lead of Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. a brilliant Baptist preacher
and a prominent key figure of the 1960’s launched a 13 month boycott of buses, which
eventually brought about the repeal of the segregation on public transportation, too.

1964 Johnson pushed through Congress the Civil Rights Act (101 years after the
Emancipation P.) 1965 the same happened with the Voting Rights Act. In order to complete
the social security and welfare legislation program, started by FDR in the new deal, Medicare
and Medicaid were also passed by congress. On top of that, Johnson repealed the 1924 quota
system in the same year. 1968 both Kennedy (Democratic presidential candidate and Dr. King
was assassinated.

The 1960’s was a decade marked by various social and political movements. One of the main
issues was the Civil Rights Movements. Afro-Americans encouraged by the early victories
started to act according to the “civil disobedience”, meaning: they started to “sit-in” at cafe-s
for whites only, went to libraries to “read-in” (én nem értem ebben mi a poén de Glant ezt írta,
gondolom ezt is akarja hallani...)

1963 Dr. King organized a march in Washington in August: and standing on the stairs of the
Lincoln Memorial he delivered one of the most moving political speeches ever:

“Let us not wallow in the valley of despair, I say to you today, my friends.
 And so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have
a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.

I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true
meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are
created equal."

I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former
slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at
the table of brotherhood.

I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering
with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be
transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.

I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where
they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their
character.

I have a dream today!”

The Civil Rights Movement had a military wing too. Called the Black Panthers and led by
Malcolm X, a pimp and pusher (dealer), turned C R Activist, who was shot dead 3 years
before King. Muhammad summed up the general attitude of Afro Americans towards the
system, when he refused to join the army:

“No Vietcong ever called me a nigger”

During the 1960’s the issue of women also came to the centre of attention. WWII had
brought major changes in their lives, and a confrontation between them and those who
mistreated them seemed inevitable. Betty Friedman’s 1963 “Feminine Mystique” challenged
the old stereotypes of women. Friedman created the National Organization of Women and a
constitutional Amendment was drafted, the so-called: Equal rights Amendment or ERA. (It
hadn’t been passed ever since.)

1963 Chicanos and Puerto Rican’s (the Young Lords) issued a joint statement demanding fair
treatment in the march of 63. “Indians of all tribes” occupied Alcatraz (wasn’t a prison
anymore) 1973 Oglala Sioux warriors occupied Wounded Knee, South Dakota and declared
it liberated territory. The National Guard seized them, some were arrested, but this meant the
beginning of a new environmentalist movement. This was the decade of the counterculture:
hippies and all...

Native Americans also shared in the Civil Rights movement. in the 1960’s the federal
government encouraged the retention of tribal governments and cultural identity. By this time
Native American population was becoming increasingly urban. City life weakened the tribal
bounds and customs. Many of them reacted against these conditions and began to take pride
in their heritage, making Native American Rights their primary objective. The American
Indian Movement (AIM) demanded reforms that would give political autonomy to Native
American Groups and recognize their special cultural needs.
The Elderly

Besides ethnic groups, other fringed groups have voiced their demands for recognition and
equal rights. Btw 1960-1982 the number of elderly grew twice as fast as did other portions of
society. So the elderly became an issue even harder to ignore. Activists have addressed the
issue of job discrimination, retirement and health care. In 1967 the Age Discrimination Act
was passed to prohibit discrimination against people btw the age of 40-65.

The Disabled

For years disabled people were institutionalized and segregated and considered unacceptable
of working and living as productive members of Society. The courts and legislators
responded to their demands by outlawing barriers to equal education and employment. 1973
The rehabilitation Act requires employers who receive federal aid or work on governmental
contracts to hire qualified disabled persons. In addition the act also requires the public
schools to admit disabled children and make their buildings accessible for them.

Homos

Controversial issue. 24 states have laws prohibiting certain kinds of sexual activity.
Conservatives fearing that the tolerance of homosexuality undermines the nation’s morality.
1986 Supreme Court decision: the individual states shall form an opinion on the issue, no
federal law implied.

Illegal Immigrants

In 2006 a new civil rights movement exploded onto the streets of the USA cities. More than
50 cities were involved in the marches, stating: We are here and we are not going anywhere.
It was a massive display of worker’s power, solidarity and confidence to push back the anti-
immigrant movement. The protest organized against the notorious Sensenbrenner Bill
graduated into a new civil rights movement.

Affirmative Action

In areas such as housing and employment, new legislation was passed in the 1960’s to
prohibit discrimination. Many of these laws were controversial and were difficult to enforce.
Despite the fair housing laws, blacks and other minorities are often refused contracts and
leases. The Government tried to correct job discrimination against minorities, through Aff.
Action. The goal of Aff. Action is to match a racial and sexual composite of the workplace
with the composition of society. Critics charge it as being reverse discrimination against
qualified white males.

Immigration
Old Immigration: was the period of time before the late 19th century (1830-1860’s) when the
immigrants moved to the United States from Northern or Western Europe. Most of the
immigrants moved from such countries as Britain, France, Germany, Ireland or Scandinavia.
Many of the Old Immigrants were attracted to America because of the availability of free
land, the Irish potato famine and the Napoleonic Wars, the promise of personal and/or
religious freedom. American Dream was also one of the factors. Many Americans welcomed
these immigrants as an asset to America as they were: workers for factories, mines,
railroads farmers for the west consumers for agricultural and industrial products men with
special abilities and talents additional manpower for military easily assimilated in American
society.
New Immigration: was a time period btw the end of the Civil War around 1870 and 1914
characteristics of the immigrants changed. This time the southern and eastern/middle
Europeans swarmed Ellis Island. Social and Economic reasons for leaving: unequal
distribution of wealth, land. Certain social groups could not make a living. (Push factor), The
US had the thriving economy, and lack of workers (perfect pull factor). 26 million people
were involved. High proportion of Agricultural workers 70-75%. Countries involved: Austria-
Hungary, Russian Empire, Italy, Greece, Poland. Italians and Greek fled poverty, Austrians
and Russians fled taxation and military service, Jews fled persecution.

Immigration Laws

1882 Chinese Exclusion Act

A treaty arrangement with China had been re-negotiated by the Hayes administration in 1881.
Congress was responsive to complaints from California, where most Chinese immigrants had
settled. Under the terms of the initial exclusion bill, Chinese workers were to be prohibited
from entering the United States for a period of 20 years and no Chinese could be granted
American citizenship. The bill was later amended to prohibiting immigration for a period of
10 years and was signed by the president. (In 1892, this act was extended for an additional 10
years.)
The Naturalization Act of 1906 was an Act of Congress that required immigrants to learn to
speak English in order to become naturalized citizens, enacted on June 29, 1906, and took
effect September 27, 1906. It was modified by the Immigration Act of 1990.

1924 Immigration Act

During the Harding administration, a stop-gap immigration measure was passed by Congress
in 1921 for the purpose of slowing the flood of immigrants entering the United States.
A more thorough law was signed by President Coolidge in May 1924. It provided for the
following:
• The quota for immigrants entering the U.S. was set at two percent of the total of any
given nation's residents in the U.S. as reported in the 1890 census;
• after July 1, 1927, the two percent rule was to be replaced by an overall cap of
150,000 immigrants annually and quotas determined by "national origins" as revealed
in the 1920 census.
The Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 (Hart-Celler Act, INS Act of 1965, Pub.L.
89-236) abolished the national-origin quotas that had been in place in the United States since
the Immigration Act of 1924. It was proposed by Emanuel Celler, co-sponsored by Philip Hart
and heavily supported by United States Senator Ted Kennedy. In 1965 Lyndon Baines
Johnson managed to persuade Congress to pass a new Immigration Act. This new legislation
brought to an end quotas based on national origin. Instead, the main factor of selection was
the occupation of the applicant. Preference was given to those who had relatives already in the
United States. Race, religion, color and national origin, was no longer factors in the selective
process.

The Magnuson Act 1943 also known as the Chinese Exclusion Repeal Act of 1943 was
immigration legislation proposed by U.S. Representative (later Senator) Warren G. Magnuson
of Washington and signed into law on December 17, 1943 in the United States. It allowed
Chinese immigration for the first time since the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, and permitted
Chinese nationals already residing in the country to become naturalized citizens.

The Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA), also Simpson-Mazzoli Act, signed by
President Ronald Reagan on November 6, 1986) is an Act of Congress which reformed
United States immigration law. The Act made it illegal to knowingly hire or recruit illegal
immigrants (immigrants who do not possess lawful work authorization), required employers
to attest to their employees' immigration status, and granted amnesty to certain illegal
immigrants who entered the United States before January 1, 1982 and had resided there
continuously. The Act also granted a path towards legalization to certain agricultural seasonal
workers and immigrants who had been continuously and illegally present in the United States
since January 1, 1982.

The Immigration Act of 1990 (Pub.L. 101-649, 104 Stat. 4978, enacted November 29, 1990)
increased the number of legal immigrants allowed into the United States each year. It also
created a lottery program that randomly assigned a number of visas. This was to help
immigrants from countries where the United States did not often grant visas.

The melting pot is an analogy for the way in which heterogeneous societies become more
homogeneous, in which the ingredients in the pot (people of different cultures, races and
religions) are combined so as to develop a multi-ethnic society. The term, which originates
from the United States, is often used to describe societies experiencing large scale
immigration from many different countries. The melting pot phenomenon has changed. The
new immigrants do not come to this country with the same mindset of leaving the old life
behind and starting anew. The new pot has often been referred as a salad bowl because the
ingredients coexist together but do not mix.

Cultural pluralism is the dynamic by which minority groups participate fully in the dominant
society, yet maintain their cultural differences. A pluralistic society is one where different
groups can interact while showing a certain degree of tolerance for one another, where
different cultures can coexist without major conflicts, and where minority cultures are
encouraged to uphold their customs.

The term multiculturalism generally refers to an applied ideology of racial, cultural and ethnic
diversity within the demographics of a specified place, usually at the scale of an organization
such as a school, business, neighborhood, city or nation.
Some countries have official, or de jure policies of multiculturalism aimed at recognizing,
celebrating and maintaining the different cultures or cultural identities within that society to
promote social cohesion. In this context, multiculturalism advocates a society that extends
equitable status to distinct cultural and religious groups, with no one culture predominating.

COUNTRY OR AREA OF BIRTH QUOTA 1924-1925

Afghanistan- 100
Albania- 100
Andorra- 100
Arabian peninsula (1, 2)- 100
Armenia- 124
Australia, including Papua, Tasmania, and all islands appertaining to Australia (3, 4)- 121
Austria- 785
Belgium (5)- 512
Bhutan- 100
Bulgaria- 100
Cameroon (proposed British mandate)- 100
Cameroon (French mandate)- 100
China- 100
Czechoslovakia- 3,073
Denmark (5, 6)- 2,789
Egypt- 100
Estonia- 124
Ethiopia (Abyssinia)- 100
Finland- 170
France (1, 5, 6)- 3,954
Germany- 51,227
Great Britain and Northern Ireland (1, 3, 5, 6)- 34,007
Greece- 100
Hungary- 473
Iceland- 100
India (3)- 100
Iraq (Mesopotamia)- 100
Irish Free State (3)- 28,567
Italy, including Rhodes, Dodecanesia, and Castellorizzo (5)- 3,845
Japan- 100
Latvia-142
Liechtenstein- 100
Lithuania- 344
Luxemburg- 100
Monaco- 100
Morocco (French and Spanish Zones and Tangier)- 100
Netherlands (1, 5, 6)- 1648
New Zealand (including appertaining islands (3, 4)- 100
Norway (5)- 6,453
New Guinea, and other Pacific Islands under proposed Australian mandate (4)- 100
Palestine (with Trans-Jordan, proposed British mandate)- 100
Persia (1)- 100
Poland- 5,982
Portugal (1, 5)- 503
Ruanda and Urundi (Belgium mandate)- 100
Rumania- 603
Russia, European and Asiatic (1)- 2,248
Samoa, Western (4) (proposed mandate of New Zealand)- 100
San Marino- 100
South Africa, Union of (3)- 100
South West Africa (proposed mandate of Union of South Africa)- 100
Spain (5)- 131
Sweden- 9,561
Switzerland- 2,081
Syria and The Lebanon (French mandate)- 100
Tanganyika (proposed British mandate)- 100
Togoland (proposed British mandate)- 100
Togoland (French mandate)- 100
Turkey- 100
Yap and other Pacific islands (under Japanese mandate) (4)- 100
Yugoslavia- 671

5. Factors contributing to cultural stability: belief systems and myth structures.

Ideologies of American destiny and identity. Manifest Destiny and New Manifest
Destiny. Mission. Redeemer Nation. Kinds of American ethnocentrism. Civil religion.

Civil Religion in America

American Civil Religion is a term coined by sociologist Robert Bellah in 1967.

In the 1960s a number of sociologists (including Robert Bellah) distinguished civil religion
from institutional (church-based) religion, arguing that societies such as modern America
were attaching sacred qualities to certain of their institutional arrangements and historical
events.
According to Bellah, Americans embrace a common "civil religion" with certain fundamental
beliefs, values, holidays, and rituals, parallel to, or independent of, their chosen religion.
Civil religion functions as a social glue to bind people together and "give them an overarching
sense of spiritual unity.

John F. Kennedy, in his inaugural address, mentioned God three times (in the 2 opening,
and in the closing paragraph  provide a frame).
The placing of the references in this speech as well as in public life generally indicates that
religion “has only a ceremonial significance”  The American President has to mention God
or risk losing votes.
It is “only a ritual.” What people say on solemn occasions need not be taken at face value.
He did not refer to any religion in particular. He did not refer to Jesus Christ, or to Moses, or
to the Christian church; certainly he did not refer to the Catholic Church. In fact, his only
reference was to the concept of God, a word that almost all Americans can accept but that
means so many different things to so many different people.
President Kennedy was a Christian, more specifically a Catholic Christian, but these are
matters of his own private religious belief and of his own particular church; they are not
matters relevant in any direct way to the conduct of his public office.
The principle of separation of church and state guarantees the freedom of religious belief and
association, but at the same time clearly segregates the religious sphere from the political one.

There are certain common elements of religious orientation that the great majority of
Americans share. These have played a crucial role in the development of American
institutions and still provide a religious dimension for the whole fabric of American life,
including the political sphere. This public religious dimension is expressed in a set of beliefs,
symbols, and rituals that is called American Civil Religion.

Kennedy actually said: “I have sworn before you and Almighty God…”  In American
political theory, sovereignty rests with the people, but the ultimate sovereignty has been
attributed to God. This is the meaning of the motto, “In God we trust,” as well as the inclusion
of the phrase “under God” in the pledge to the flag.
The whole address can be understood as only the most recent statement of a theme that lies
very deep in the American tradition, namely the obligation to carry out God’s will on earth.
This was the motivating spirit of those who founded America, and it has been present in every
generation since.

The phrase “civil religion” is, of course, Rousseau’s. In chapter 8, book 4 of The Social
Contract, he outlines the simple dogmas of the civil religion: the existence of God, the life to
come, the reward of virtue and the punishment of vice, and the exclusion of religious
intolerance.  similar ideas were to be found among the Americans

The words and acts of the founding fathers, especially the first few presidents, shaped the
form and tone of the civil religion as it has been maintained ever since. Though much is
selectively derived from Christianity, this religion is clearly not itself Christianity. For one
thing, neither Washington nor Adams nor Jefferson mentions Christ in his inaugural address;
nor do any of the subsequent presidents.

The God of the civil religion is not only rather “unitarian,” much more related to order, law,
and right than to salvation and love. Even though he is somewhat deist in cast, he is by no
means simply a watchmaker God. He is actively interested and involved in history, with a
special concern for America.
The civil religion expressed what those who set the precedents felt was appropriate under the
circumstances. It reflected their private as well as public views. Nor was the civil religion
simply “religion in general.” It was saved from empty formalism and served as a genuine
vehicle of national religious self-understanding.

Civil religion was never felt to be a substitute for Christianity (exception: Tom Paine).

Until the Civil War, the American civil religion focused above all on the event of the
Revolution, which was seen as the final act of the Exodus from the old lands across the
waters. The Declaration of Independence and the Constitution were the sacred scriptures and
Washington the divinely appointed Moses who led his people out of the hands of tyranny.

The Civil War was the second great event that involved the national self-understanding so
deeply as to require expression in civil religion. It was one of the bloodiest wars of the
nineteenth century; the loss of life was far greater than any previously suffered by Americans.
With the Civil War, a new theme of death, sacrifice, and rebirth enters the new civil religion.
It is symbolized in the life and death of Lincoln. Nowhere is it stated more vividly than in the
Gettysburg Address, itself part of the Lincolnian “New Testament” among the civil scriptures.
In his words, Lincoln symbolically died, just as the Union soldiers really died—and as he
himself was soon really to die.
With the Christian archetype in the background, Lincoln, “our martyred president,” was
linked to the war dead, those who “gave the last full measure of devotion.” The theme of
sacrifice was indelibly written into the civil religion.

Memorial Day, which grew out of the Civil War, gave ritual expression to the themes we
have been discussing. It is a major event for the whole community involving a rededication to
the martyred dead, to the spirit of sacrifice, and to the American vision. Just as Thanksgiving
Day, which incidentally was securely institutionalized as an annual national holiday only
under the presidency of Lincoln, serves to integrate the family into the civil religion, so
Memorial Day has acted to integrate the local community into the national cult. Together with
the less overtly religious Fourth of July and the more minor celebrations of Veterans Day and
the birthdays of Washington and Lincoln, these two holidays provide an annual ritual calendar
for the civil religion.

Like all religions, it has suffered various deformations and demonic distortions.

The American civil religion was never anticlerical or militantly secular. On the contrary, it
borrowed selectively from the religious tradition in such a way that the average American saw
no conflict between the two. In this way, the civil religion was able to build up without any
bitter struggle with the church powerful symbols of national solidarity and to mobilize deep
levels of personal motivation for the attainment of national goals. <-> France: The French
Revolution was anticlerical to the core and attempted to set up an anti-Christian civil religion.
With respect to America’s role in the world, the dangers of distortion are greater and the built-
in safeguards of the tradition weaker. The theme of the American Israel was used, almost from
the beginning, as a justification for the shameful treatment of the Indians so characteristic of
our history. It can be overtly or implicitly linked to the ideal of manifest destiny that has been
used to legitimate several adventures in imperialism since the early nineteenth century.

“God” has clearly been a central symbol in the civil religion from the beginning and remains
so today. This symbol is just as central to the civil religion as it is to Judaism or Christianity.
In the late eighteenth century this posed no problem. But today, as even Time has recognized,
the meaning of “God” is by no means so clear or so obvious. There is no formal creed in the
civil religion.

The first time of trial had to do with the question of independence, whether we should or
could run our own affairs in our own way.
The second time of trial was over the issue of slavery, which in turn was only the most
salient aspect of the more general problem of the full institutionalization of democracy within
our country. This second problem we are still far from solving though we have some notable
successes to our credit.
The third time of trial is the problem of responsible action in a revolutionary world, a world
seeking to attain many of the things, material and spiritual, that we have already attained.
During the course of the 20th century, the USA as a democratic republic rebuked tyranny by
merely existing.
 Truman: fight against Communism
 Kennedy: Vietnam War
 George W. Bush: War on terrorism

In many situations, the USA tended to rely on her overwhelming physical power rather than
on intelligence.

Out of the first and second times of trial have come the major symbols of the American civil
religion. There seems little doubt that a successful negotiation of this third time of trial—the
attainment of some kind of viable and coherent world order—would precipitate a major new
set of symbolic forms.

Behind the civil religion at every point lie biblical archetypes: Exodus, Chosen People,
Promised Land, New Jerusalem, and Sacrificial Death and Rebirth. But it is also genuinely
American and genuinely new. It has its own prophets and its own martyrs, its own sacred
events and sacred places, its own solemn rituals and symbols. It is concerned that America be
a society as perfectly in accord with the will of God as men can make it, and a light to all
nations.

Ideologies of American destiny and identity

The Ideological Origins of American Identity

It was the separation of the colonies from GB by the Declaration of Independence and
the Revolution that created the need for a national consciousness as the spiritual counterpart
of the political entity that had come into being. The fact that Am people were of diverse ethnic
strains was not overlooked in discussions of nationality, but because of the events that brought
the nation to birth, the Am identity was conceived primarily in abstract ideological terms.
Ethnic considerations were subsidiary.
A sense of distinctive peoplehood could be founded only on ideas, because the great
majority of Americans shared language, literature, religion, and other cultural traditions. The
non-British minority did not offer a language, religion, or common culture upon which the
national identity could be based. The US defined itself as a nation by commitment to the
principles of liberty, equality, and government on the basis of consent, and the nationality of
its people derived from their identification with those principles.

Two elements in the structure of ideas underlying Am national identity:

1. the English tradition of liberty that stressed
a. self-government,
b. institutional limitations on the power of the sovereign,
c. the procedural safeguards in law for the person accused of crime.
2. Enlightenment – its thinkers transformed the above lessons into universal principles 
“The historical birthright of Englishmen became in America … the natural right of
man, a universal message, the birthright of mankind.”

Three marks of the developing idea of nationality:

1. Republican ideology:
 simplicity
 self-reliance
 emphasis on virtue invested politics with religious seriousness

The universalist ideological character of Am nationality meant that it was open to anyone who
willed to become an Am – all he had to do was to commit himself to the political ideology
centered on the abstract ideals of liberty, equality, and republicanism
2. Newness – Am had turned its back on Europe & proclaimed itself the new order of the
ages, the model for the future. The heroes: the founding fathers.
3. Future orientation

COHESIVE FORCES IN AMERICA: VALUES, BELIEFS AND

COLLECTIVE MYTHS (Glant előadásáról)

BACKGROUND

The major dilemma: the US is, or the US are?

Walt Whitman, Leaves of Grass (1855)

“I am large, I contain multitudes/ Do I contradict myself?
Very well then, I contradict myself.”

Richard Hughes, The Culture of Complaint (1993)

“There never was a core America in which everyone looked the same, spoke the same
language, worshipped the same gods and believed in the same things… American is
the construction of the mind, not of race or inherited class or ancestral territory.”

Jerry Adler in Newsweek (July 1996)

“The great centrifugal engine of American culture turns faster and faster, spinning off
fashions, slogans, ideologies, religious, artistic movements, economic theories,
therapeutic disciplines, cults and dogmas in fabulous profusion. Everyone’s identity is
politicized-not just in terms of race, ethnicity, religions and language… but also
 gender, sexual behavior, age, clothing, diet and personal habits. To smoke in public is a
political act.”

Values, beliefs and myths are basic building blocks of all communities; they are indoctrinated
by certain forms of social, educational institutions; created by human beings who create
priorities and preferences; they cover a wide spectrum from abstract ideals such as justice,
freedom, and righteousness to anything that is desirable and useful; they are socially
conditioned and subject to constant change but expected to provide guidelines and stability.

VALUES: THE FOUR CORE VALUES

LIBERTY: certain guarantees for the individual against probable governmental oppression
(Declaration of Independence, the Bill of Rights, 1791, the 14th amendment)
EQUALITY: all citizens enjoy identical political rights and the same chances to the
attainment of the American Dream (Declaration of Independence; 14th amendment)
DEMOCRACY: republicanism, limited government, checks and balances, constitutional
safeguards, participation and the willingness to make the system work (Washington’s decision
not to run after two terms, Thoreau, On the Duty of Civil Disobedience)
INDIVIDUALISM: individual freedom, equality of opportunity, competition, material wealth,
hard work, self-reliance, etc.; cf. Benjamin Franklin, Autobiography (Paris, 1791; London,
1793): the13 virtues of self-perfection; the American Dream

BELIEFS

All communities develop a deeply-rooted SYSTEM OF BELIEFS by which the community

seeks answers to and explains basic ideas:
 nature and the universe, its creation and control
 man’s place in the universe
 communities: self-legitimizing stories of national origin and greatness
 position of the individual in a given community and society
 human nature and conduct

MYTHS

 Definitions of myth and ideology, orientation (past, present, future; and Orwell)
 Means of construction: exaggeration, oversimplification, manipulative rearrangement
of things, stereotypes, etc.
 Unifying myths vs. disuniting myths (melting pot vs. the disuniting of America)
 Individual and collective myths: the American Dream and America’s Mission
 Why myths and why so many?
 Functions: explain, justify, foretell

THE AMERICAN DREAM

 individual success, material, spiritual or political
 various versions (How many are there?)
  automatism and justification
 failure and its admission: Studs Terkel, American Dreams Lost and Found (1980)
 its corruption at times of national crisis (Horatio Alger; Depression; Sixties; now?)
 the outside push (cf. America’s image abroad)

AMERICA’S MISSION
 Combination of myths and ideologies about identity and place and role in the world:
What makes an American? + What should they do in the world?
 Heritage:
Western heritage: Judeo-Christian, Greco-Roman, Germanic, European
New World heritage: the civil religion, belief in the American way and uniqueness
Modern heritage: challenges of transformation and successful responses
Pluralistic heritage: diversity in population and ideas
 Identity: frontier, melting pot, salad bowl, multiculturalism (and the dual attitude
towards American citizenship)- e.g.: Hungarian American
 Mission:
Continental (19th century): City upon a Hill, the American Eden (second Great
Awakening), Manifest Destiny, Monroe Doctrine
Global (20th and 21st centuries): Making the world safe for democracy; the problems of
evolution and revolution (cf. 1956)

Kinds of American Ethnocentrism

N.B: Előre szólok, hogy a következő téma elég trükkös volt, mivelhogy a Factors
contributing to Cultural Stability tétel alatt található az anyag, viszont az összes utalás
amit az Intro jegyzetekben találtam az a Disruptive Forces alatt volt. Mellesleg az se volt
sok.

Core America: “Bible-based, religious and political ethnocentrism” (WASP superiority

complex): which groups do NOT fit and why (different levels of whiteness); cf.
stereotypes in Canadian Bacon
Other extreme: Political Correctness

WASP: White-Anglo-Saxon-Protestant, claim of ethnic superiority, Western heritage,

Protestant work ethic, upon which the country was built, in contrast with “corrupt” Catholics,
everyone non-WASP was inferior.
Segregation, slavery, blacks are not human
Native-Americans spawn of the Devil (Puritan, Settlers)
Irish: not white enough

Religious:
American exceptionalism: Coined by Tocqueville, “In God we trust”, a country chosen by
God. Country is built upon the Puritan work ethic  Rhode Island, heretics, discriminated
against

City upon a Hill: Coined by Winthrop, used by JFK. America the second Eden, land of
opportunity and hope, religious overtones, originally in Bible, country chosen by God
Protestant country: anti-catholic sentiments
“Bible-belt” (S US, Alabama, Florida, N, S Carolina, Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia, Texas,
Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Missouri, Kansas, Mississippi) evolution optional theory

Political ethnocentrism:
Isolationism, Monroe-Doctrine: America has nothing to do with rest of the world, introduced
in 1823, named after President James Monroe, separation of hemi-spheres. America is
responsible for North and South America.

Manifest Destiny

Segregation: 1896, Plessey vs. Fergusson, colored vs. non-colored. Separate but equal.
WASP mentality

America’s Mission

Melting Pot: Israel Zangville, originally a drama, assimilation. Those who come to America
must assimilate, become American.
Frontier: line of rapid Americanization

John L. O'Sullivan Promotes "Manifest Destiny" (1845)

ANNEXATION

It is time now for opposition to the Annexation of Texas to cease…even though it may
perhaps be required of us as a necessary condition of the freedom of our institutions,
that we must live on for ever in a state of unpausing struggle and excitement upon
some subject of party division or other. But, in regard to Texas, enough has now been
given to Party. It is time for the common duty of Patriotism to the Country to succeed;
—or if this claim will not be recognized, it is at least time for common sense to
acquiesce with decent grace in the inevitable and the irrevocable.

Texas is now ours. …Her star and her stripe may already be said to have taken their
place in the glorious blazon of our common nationality; and the sweep of our eagle's
wing already includes within its circuit the wide extent of her fair and fertile land. …
Patriotism…already begins to thrill for her too within the national heart. It is time then
that all should cease to treat her as alien…There has been enough of all this. It has had
its fitting day during the period when, in common with every other possible question
of practical policy that can arise, it unfortunately became one of the leading topics of
party division, of presidential electioneering. But that period has passed, and with it let
its prejudices and its passions, it discords and its denunciations, pass away too. …Let
their reception into "the family" be frank, kindly, and cheerful, as befits such an
occasion, as comports not less with our own self-respect than patriotic duty towards
them. Ill betide those foul birds that delight to defile their own nest, and disgust the ear
with perpetual discord of ill-omened croak.
Why, were other reasoning wanting… it surely is to be found… in the manner in
which other nations have undertaken to intrude themselves into it… in a spirit of
hostile interference against us, for the avowed object of thwarting our policy and
hampering our power, limiting our greatness and checking the fulfilment of our
manifest destiny to overspread the continent allotted by Providence for the free
development of our yearly multiplying millions. This we have seen done by England,
our old rival and enemy; and by France, strangely coupled with her against us…The
zealous activity with which this effort to defeat us …would unite us all in maintaining
the common cause of our country against the foreigner and the foe. We are only
astonished that this effect has not been more fully and strongly produced, and that the
burst of indignation against this unauthorized, insolent and hostile interference against
us, has not been more general even among the party before opposed to Annexation,
and has not rallied the national spirit and national pride unanimously upon that policy.
…

It is wholly untrue, and unjust to ourselves, the pretence that the Annexation has been
a measure of spoilation, unrightful and unrighteous—of military conquest under forms
of peace and law—of territorial aggrandizement at the expense of justice, and justice
due by a double sanctity to the weak. … The independence of Texas was complete and
absolute. It was an independence, not only in fact but of right. … She was released,
rightfully and absolutely released, from all Mexican allegiance, or duty of cohesion to
the Mexican political body, by the acts and fault of Mexico herself, and Mexico alone.
There never was a clearer case. …

Nor is there any just foundation for the charge that Annexation is a great pro-slavery
measure—calculated to increase and perpetuate that institution. Slavery had nothing to
do with it. Opinions were and are greatly divided, both at the North and South, as to
the influence to be exerted by it on Slavery and the Slave States… it will tend to
facilitate and hasten the disappearance of Slavery from all the northern tier of the
present Slave States…The greater value in Texas of the slave labor now employed in
those States, must soon produce the effect of draining off that labor southwardly, by
the same unvarying law that bids water descend the slope that invites it. Every new
Slave State in Texas will make at least one Free State from among those in which that
institution now exists…to say nothing of the far more rapid growth of new States in
the free West and Northwest, as these fine regions are overspread by the emigration
fast flowing over them from Europe… On the other hand, it is undeniably much
gained for the cause of the eventual voluntary abolition of slavery, that it should have
been thus drained off towards the only outlet which appeared to furnish much
probability of the ultimate disappearance of the negro race from our borders. The
Spanish-Indian-American populations of Mexico, Central America and South
America, afford the only receptacle capable of absorbing that race whenever we shall
be prepared to slough it off—to emancipate it from slavery, and (simultaneously
necessary) to remove it from the midst of our own. Themselves already of mixed and
confused blood, and free from the "prejudices" which among us so insuperably forbid
the social amalgamation which can alone elevate the Negro race out of a virtually
servile degradation even though legally free, the regions occupied by those
populations must strongly attract the black race in that direction; and as soon as the
destined hour of emancipation shall arrive, will relieve the question of one of its worst
difficulties, if not absolutely the greatest. …
Texas has been absorbed into the Union in the inevitable fulfilment of the general law
which is rolling our population westward; the connexion of which with that ratio of
growth in population which is destined within a hundred years to swell our numbers to
the enormous population of two hundred and fifty millions (if not more), is too evident
to leave us in doubt of the design of Providence in regard to the occupation of this
continent. … And possessed as it was by a population which was in truth but a
colonial detachment from our own, and which was still bound by myriad ties of the
very heartstrings to its old relations, domestic and political, their incorporation into the
Union was not only inevitable, but the most natural, right and proper thing in the
world—and it is only astonishing that there should be any among ourselves to say it
nay.

In respect to the institution of slavery itself, we have not designed, in what has been
said above, to express any judgment of its merits or demerits, pro for or con against.
National in its character and aims, this Review abstains from the discussion of a topic
pregnant with embarrassment and danger—intricate and double-sided—exciting and
embittering—and necessarily excluded from a work circulating equally in the South as
in the North. It is unquestionably one of the most difficult of the various social
problems which at the present day so deeply agitate the thoughts of the civilized
world. Is the negro race, or is it not, of equal attributes and capacities with our own?
Can they, on a large scale, coexist side by side in the same country on a footing of civil
and social equality with the white race? In a free competition of labor with the latter,
will they or will they not be ground down to a degradation and misery worse than
slavery? …can our confidence be undoubting that in the present condition of society,
the conferring of sudden freedom upon our negro race would be a boon to be grateful
for? … Until a still deeper problem shall have been solved than that of slavery, the
slavery of an inferior to a superior race—a relation reciprocal in certain important
duties and obligations—is it certain that the cause of true wisdom and philanthropy is
not rather, for the present, to aim to meliorate that institution as it exists, to guard
against its abuses, to mitigate its evils, to modify it when it may contravene sacred
principles and rights of humanity, by prohibiting the separation of families, excessive
severities, subjection to the licentiousness of mastership, &c.? …

California will, probably, next fall away from the loose adhesion which, in such a
country as Mexico, holds a remote province in a slight equivocal kind of dependence
on the metropolis. Imbecile and distracted, Mexico never can exert any real
governmental authority over such a country. The impotence of the one and the distance
of the other, must make the relation one of virtual independence; unless, by stunting
the province of all natural growth, and forbidding that immigration which can alone
develop its capabilities and fulfil the purposes of its creation, tyranny may retain a
military dominion which is no government in the legitimate sense of the term. In the
case of California this is now impossible. The Anglo-Saxon foot is already on its
borders. Already the advance guard of the irresistible army of Anglo-Saxon emigration
has begun to pour down upon it, armed with the plough and the rifle, and marking its
trail with schools and colleges, courts and representative halls, mills and meeting-
houses. …They will necessarily become independent. All this without agency of our
government, without responsibility of our people…And they will have a right to
independence—to self-government—to the possession of the homes conquered from
the wilderness by their own labors and dangers, sufferings and sacrifices—a better and
a truer right than the artificial title of sovereignty in Mexico a thousand miles
distant… there can be no doubt that the population now fast streaming down upon
California will both assert and maintain that independence. Whether they will then
attach themselves to our Union or not, is not to be predicted with any certainty. Unless
the projected rail-road across the continent to the Pacific be carried into effect, perhaps
they may not; though even in that case, the day is not distant when the Empires of the
Atlantic and Pacific would again flow together into …But that great work, colossal as
appears the plan on its first suggestion, cannot remain long unbuilt. Its necessity for
this very purpose of binding and holding together in its iron clasp our fast settling
Pacific region with that of the Mississippi valley…the ease with which any amount of
labor for the construction can be drawn in from the overcrowded populations of
Europe, to be paid in the lands made valuable by the progress of the work itself—and
its immense utility to the commerce of the world with the whole eastern coast of
Asia…these considerations give assurance that the day cannot be distant which shall
witness the conveyance of the representatives from Oregon and California to
Washington within less time than a few years ago was devoted to a similar journey by
those from Ohio; while the magnetic telegraph will enable the editors of the "San
Francisco Union," the "Astoria Evening Post," or the "Nootka Morning News" to set
up in type the first half of the President's Inaugural, before the echoes of the latter half
shall have died away beneath the lofty porch of the Capitol, as spoken from his lips.

Away, then, with all idle French talk of balances of power on the American Continent.
There is no growth in Spanish America! … And whatsoever may hold the balance,
though they should cast into the opposite scale all the bayonets and cannon, not only
of France and England, but of Europe entire, how would it kick the beam against the
simple solid weight of the two hundred and fifty or three hundred millions—and
American millions—destined to gather beneath the flutter of the stripes and stars, in
the fast hastening year of the Lord 1945?

Manifest Destiny

When you hear the words, 2 things must come to your mind.
A painting
John O’Sullivan’s name

The Term: Manifest Destiny, as O'Sullivan explained it, described the United States's
providential mission to extend its systems of democracy, federalism, and personal freedom, as
well as to accommodate its rapidly growing population by ultimately taking possession of the
entire North American continent. O'Sullivan argued that this U.S. "true title" superseded any
competing claims to the continent that European states might have on the basis of prior
discovery or prior settlement. Further, he emphasized that the way to continental hegemony
was to be peaceful, achieved primarily through the work of "Anglo-Saxon emigration."
Unlike imperial European nations that conquered their empires, the United States would wait
for peoples living elsewhere to realize the advantages of annexation and voluntarily seek
incorporation into the Union.

Background:
The 1840s were years of extraordinary territorial growth for the united States. During a four
year period, the national domain increased by 1.2 million square miles, a gain of more than
sixty percent. So rapid and dramatic was the process of territorial expansion, that it came to be
seen as an inexorable process, prompting many Americans to insist that their nation had a
"manifest destiny" to dominate the continent.

Yet, the expansionist agenda was never a clearly defined movement, or one that enjoyed
broad, bipartisan support. Whig party leaders vigorously opposed territorial growth, and even
expansionist Democrats argued about how much new land should be acquired, and by what
means. Some supporters of Manifest Destiny favored rapid expansion and bold pursuit of
American territorial claims, even at the risk of war with other nations. Others, no less
committed to the long-term goal of an American empire, opposed to the use of force to
achieve these ends, believing that contiguous land would voluntarily join the Union in order
to obtain the benefits of republican rule. In an often-used metaphor of the day, these regions
would ripen like fruit and fall into the lap of the United States. The champions of Manifest
Destiny were at best a motley collection of interest groups.

By the 1840s, steamboats had turned America’s waterways in busy commercial thoroughfares,
while a network of railroads integrated eastern markets with towns and cities on the western
slope of the Appalachians. The telegraph, first used in 1844, ushered in a modern age of long
distance communication. An American dominion stretching from the Atlantic to the Pacific
now seemed within reach.

About John O’Sullivan

John O'Sullivan was born in November, 1813. A New York journalist and the founder and
editor of the United States Magazine and Democratic Review (1837-1846). He was also the
editor of the New York Morning News (1844-46).

In an editorial the in United States Magazine and Democratic Review in July 1845, O'Sullivan
became the first person to use the term "manifest destiny" to encourage the spirit of
expansionism. Over the following years the Manifest Destiny doctrine claimed that it should
be the objective of the United States to absorb all of North America. This expansionism
eventually ended in the acquisition of Texas, Oregon and California.

Later life:

In 1854 O'Sullivan became minister to Portugal. A post he held until 1858. He died on 24th
February, 1895.

The Coinage:
“The far-reaching, the boundless future will be the era of American greatness. In its
magnificent domain of space and time, the nation of many nations is destined to manifest to
mankind the excellence of divine principles; to establish on earth the noblest temple ever
dedicated to the worship of the Most High -- the Sacred and the True. Its floor shall be a
hemisphere -- its roof the firmament of the star-studded heavens, and its congregation an
Union of many Republics, comprising hundreds of happy millions, calling, owning no man
master, but governed by God's natural and moral law of equality, the law of brotherhood -- of
‘peace and good will amongst men.’. . . “
“Why, were other reasoning wanting… it surely is to be found… in the manner in
which other nations have undertaken to intrude themselves into it… in a spirit of
hostile interference against us, for the avowed object of thwarting our policy and
hampering our power, limiting our greatness and checking the fulfilment of our
manifest destiny to overspread the continent allotted by Providence for the free
development of our yearly multiplying millions.”

The work concerned U.S. annexation of Texas in the July-August 1845 issue of the
Review.(2nd) We know it wasn’t signed by him, but an 1846 article (the 1st) has a
similar word use which indicates the presumably same person behind both.

[I am attaching the full article for those who’d like to read it.]

New Manifest Destiny

“White Man’s Burden”

Protestant Missionary Ideals
Trade, Shipping

"The White Man's Burden" is a poem by the English poet "Rudyard Kipling. It was originally
published in the popular magazines in 1899, with the subtitle The United States and the
Philippine Islands. Although Kipling's "white man's burden" was a characterization for
imperialism that justified the policy as a noble enterprise.
The poem was originally written for Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee, but exchanged for
Recessional"; Kipling changed the text of "Burden" to reflect the subject of American
colonization. The poem consists of seven stanzas, following a regular rhyme scheme. At face
value it appears to be a rhetorical command to white men to colonize and rule people of other
nations for their own benefit (both the people and the duty may be seen as representing the
"burden" of the title). Because of its theme and title, it has become emblematic both of
Eurocentric racism and of Western aspirations to dominate the developing world. A century
after its publication, the poem still rouses strong emotions, and can be analyzed from a variety
of perspectives.
The Frontier as such did not end with the discontinuation of land in the pacific coast. It halted
for a while but after the transportation system was established between the 2 coasts, the eyes
of the Americans was set upon the pacific ocean, Its islands, for strategic and economic
reasons. Hawaii: Queen Liliuokalani was forced to abandon her thrown in 1893, the islands
were annexed in 1898 by McKinley. So if you put it, the pacific is the new playground for
Americans to work out the Frontier Theory.

Samoa, 1899 The Island acquired by treaty

The Spanish American war broke out also because of the USA’s hunger for land and dignity.
The result of the war in the Paris peace Treaty was that the US acquired Puerto Rico, Guam,
Phillipines. It also expands the US’s interests around the world.

The Open Door Policy,, which sees Guam and the Philippines as a stepping stone to China
The Americans wanted to convert the Chinese to Christianity.

Building the Panama Canal. It was an outstanding achievement of American investment. At

first it was a joint venture with the French but Later the US bought out the French equipment
and continued alone. It allowed excess from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean within a few
hours after its opening in 1914. Right until 1999, Dec 31 The supervision of the Canal was in
the hands of the US, when she gave it up to the Panama Government, under the conditions
that the canal remains neutral to trade.

The North American Union is one manifestation of this idea. The NAU ‘s purpose is to ensure
extensive trade relations with its members. The wars that the US led against nations after
WWII were almost all to satisfy the nations resource hunger.

Iraq, Afganistan are all part of a large scenario, where the US builds outposts in the Middle
East around Russia. Supports new, “democratic” governments she initiated, until they are in
her interest. Saudi Arabia bares solid allegiance with the US, with Israel on her side she has
the key Religious nations on her side. Muslims and Israelites alike. Iraq - oil, Afganistan -
military position. The New Manifest Destiny is about engulfing the other superpowers and
gaining sole sovereignty over the nations.

NATO is another example for this.

The Dollar Diplomacy is known to protect the USA’s investments outside the
country/overseas. (Howard Taft)

Redeemer Nation

There is a book by Ernest Lee Tuveson, Redeemer Nation: The Idea of America's Millennial
Role.
The central theme of the book is the belief in America as a sort of Christ-nation, a nation
placed here on earth to save mankind. Professor Tuveson (who is Professor of English at
Berkeley) does not go so far as to suggest that American messianism has been responsible for
most of America's foreign policy, but he does argue that the U.S. entry into both world wars,
for example, was accompanied by 'a millennialist kind of enthusiasm'.

The idea of mission was in large measure, secular. It was not simply the work of clergymen,
but of racists, nationalists, and economic expansionists.

The notion itself holds ground when talking about the conversions taking place as early as the
16th century, but ever since it has been an issue in American politics and religious
organizations. The USA saw herself as the interpreter of God’s will, and as Turner argues in
his Manifest Destiny over the supremacy over the land, the people feel the same way about
the religious aspects pervading society, being necessary in the nationalization process. The
USA sees herself as one of the leading societies on Earth and as such wants to share this with
the rest of the world. This does not come down merely to commercial matters but also to the
attitude change of the people necessary to enjoy the prosperity of this so called ‘national
mind’.

The first six decades of its life (1837-1893) The Board of Foreign Missions of Presbyterian
Church in the United States of America sent more than 400 missionaries to at least 17 diverse
Indian tribes. Convinced of the absolute superiority of their Christian civilization, these
missionaries relentlessly denounced the ways of Indians.

What else pops in your mind when you hear the notion? Megváltó nemzet.
You could think of how America opened her arms to immigrants above the national quota. (of
course after it was established)

City upon a hill concept.

I open this to discussion, who ever has a thought, please do feel free to notify. Not just me but
others too.

The New Manifest Destiny

Written by George William Bradshaw in 1985

Our natural superiority over other cultures has made the United States the most powerful
country in history. Our system of extorting wealth and power from other countries, our ability
to take what we want when we want it, and our military ability is without comparison. Not
even our communist enemies could withstand our combined wrath. Indeed, we already rule
the world. Not directly of course, but through our combined influence. It is that influential
ability that will ultimately make us on top of the new world order.
We have the most powerful man in the world, a virtual world dictatorship, under the guise of
the President of the United States, but in reality it is more like the President of the Planet.
With one phone call, the President of the United States could unleash an armegeddon upon
this planet. He could destroy the planet 100 times over with an arsenal of nuclear weapons
that is simply unstoppable.
But we don't because we don't want to destroy the world. We want to control it, and control
takes much more subtle means.
Economics is the pinpoint, the cornerstone of every culture. Without a strong economy the
culture would collapse into anarchy, tyranny and violence. We have seen this in our own
country where the poorest parts of the United States also leads to the most violent crimes.
Without a strong economy there is no art institutions, no ballet or theatre. The country would
be in an economic slump where people are fighting for a home over their heads, food to eat,
and safety and security for their families. In order to create a strong economy those three must
be raised to a level where the citizens can take them for granted. If a country ensures that its
citizens have food, homes and safety then the economy will automatically be stable and grow
prosperous.
If a country loses one of its basic measures, such as food, their economy will collapse under
the weight of starvation and their country could be easily taken over by an outsider. For
example, North Korea has an economy plagued by food shortages. The long-term animosity
between the United States and North Korea makes them a logical target to be taken over, but
there's nothing in North Korea that we want. They have scarce enough supplies for
themselves, and they don't have any oil. v Growing food is not enough, you also have to have
the ability to easily and cheaply transport the food. That’s where oil and gasoline comes in. In
the United States our own oil reserves are dwindling. According to estimates within the
United States we will run out of oil by the year 2008 (sooner if we are forced to use it at a
faster rate). Afterwards we will be forced to buy our oil from overseas. It is a national security
issue that our oil supply must not be disrupted. If our oil supply becomes endangered we must
protect it at all costs, even if it means war.
Our current oil shortage in the United States is related to problems overseas in the middle-
east. It is obvious that if we are to find a stable supply of oil to support our economy, that oil
will have to come from countries such as Iraq, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Syria and others.
Our current diplomatic ties with Saudi Arabia are useful with supplying us with oil for now,
but that price will certainly go up over long periods of time. We need to secure more vast
resources of oil in order to maintain a much cheaper value for the United States economy.
If the price of gasoline goes up so does the price of food. If our people can't afford to drive to
the grocery store and buy food because transportation costs have skyrocketed then our
economy will go into a depression.
Within a depression we will be vulnerable to attack, our forces will be weakened and divided
in the face of communism. We would too easily become enslaved to the communist threat that
is spreading around the globe. The average communist is a godless heathen who has no
compassion for their fellow man. We would be slaves under the heel of such a tyrant's boot.
Instead we must do what is necessary. We must cut off our current enemies (the communists
in Russia) from supplies of oil, cripple their economy and destroy their infrastructure. After
their economy has thoroughly been destroyed we can control them through economic
sanctions and economic trade. If they are getting too strong we will cut off their supplies and
starve them for awhile, then when they are ripe we will turn on the tap again. They will be
virtual slaves to the United States.
You can see this working in Cuba where the large African population was used to create a
communist regime with promises of equality. The United States cannot tolerate such a
communist country so close to our mainland and so we have created economic sanctions
against them and crippled their economy. We will keep the communist dogs down where they
belong.
In Africa where communism is spreading we must hamper their economy so that they do not
become too powerful. Disease is a central problem in the Africa where diseases like malaria
are rampant. This is a threat to the third basic need of a strong economy: Safety. By allowing
the diseases to spread and grow, the economy of Africa will be weighed down by diseases and
make it easy for governments to be easily toppled. It doesn't matter whether they are
communist or not, the African continent must not be allowed to grow stronger.
By restricting trade with Africa, and by selling weapons and ammunition to various
paramilitary groups the United States keeps Africa in a state of anarchy. Wars constantly
raging as Africans kill Africans, all in the name of food, wealth and the pursuit of a safety that
will never come so long as we continue to supply weapons to the various factions. Peace is
the ultimate enemy to the United States. We cannot allow peace to occur. Africans must be
kept in a constant state of war in order to ensure that they never unite.
If the republics of Africa ever united they would have the combined technology, food
resources and easy access to uranium in Nigeria that would supply them with nuclear
weapons. If Africa unified and became a communist super-power they would be a threat to the
safety and security of the United States. By keeping Africa down where they belong we
ensure that they will never grow strong enough to threaten the United States.
Our largest threat however is not Africa or Russia, but China. Over the long-term China's
economy will grow stronger and stronger. I do not agree with the current president's trade
deals with China. Buying products from China only encourages the yellow communist to
build more and more until our economy is flooded by things manufactured in China. Already
we have too many things that are built in Japan, but now we are starting to see the flood of
cheap items coming from China. We should not allow this. We should cut off any contact with
China and work harder to impede their economy.
The problem in China is that their economy is already very poor. The people work very hard
for very little money in return. Such is the basis of China's communism that the lower classes
are kept poor and the upper class controls the wealth, the power and the nuclear weapons.
Like Africa, they are poor, but unlike Africa they are already united into one larger country
and have nuclear weapons because of it.
The economy in China is so poor that the vast majority of Chinese do not have a car or any
kind of motorized vehicle. Thus the method of transporting food is usually done by train. We
cannot hamper their economy in the same way we do in Russia or Africa. Cutting off their oil
supplies will not destroy their economy. Supplying weapons to paramilitary groups won't
work because the country is united under the brand of communism.
Furthermore is the immigration problem in the United States, where we are letting too many
Chinese into the country and granting them American citizenship. This too is a threat to our
security. How do we do know we are not letting in spies who could steal our technology or
perhaps perform acts of terrorism against us? We cannot trust the Chinese. They are too shifty
and despite their small size they are still a possible threat.
The only solution I can see with the Chinese problem is war. We will have to bomb their cities
with nuclear weapons and shoot down or prevent their nuclear missiles from being fired on
our cities. After the fallout we will have to invade immediately and eradicate all forms of
communist resistance. Once the United States has secured power from smaller cities that are
left untouched then we can force the Chinese to accept capitalism. Over time their economy
will strengthen and grow, but we will be forced to hamper their economy from time to time in
order to ensure they are no longer a threat to the United States.
Our allies will be fundamental in our ability to control the planet. We must in turn be able to
control our allies. People elected in the countries of our allies must be those who are favorable
towards the United States and be willing to follow our orders. Therefore we must invest in the
economies of our neighbors. Countries like Canada, Brazil and Mexico must be forced to
follow our every whim. We must cut off their supplies at the source by investing in their food
resources. If their food belongs to us, then we in turn control their economy.
Furthermore, as we are already doing, we can continue to supply food to our allies, but we
must make that supply of food more impressive with each growing year so that we flood their
markets with cheap high-quality American food and destroy their local food economy. We
don't have to do this in whole, but we can attack specific food items like their beef or poultry
industry, driving their local beef or poultry farmers out of business. Then when they are
driven to buy American grown beef and poultry we will have our allies under the yoke of the
American influence.
Progress will happen, but we must hamper and control that progress on a world-wide level if
we ever hope to control the combined economies of the planet. At times it will be difficult and
we may forced to go to war with rogue nations, but our combined strength and the strength of
our allies will eventually win.
As an important part of winning over our allies and our enemies we must also battle one of
propaganda and wits. Through music, and movies and art we must convince the people of the
world that American Culture is superior and that they should strive to be more like us. Even
our religion must become a weapon against our enemies. We must teach people to speak
English, read the bible like good Christians should, force them to watch American-style
movies and TV shows and brainwash their cultures into believing the United States is the
greatest country ever.
Because we are. We really are.
 6. The survey of a historical period of your choice. Choose one of the following
historical periods for your presentation: (1) the American Revolution; (2) the Civil
War decade: (3) the "Gilded Age"; (4) the "Progressive Era"; (5) America between
the two world wars; (6) the U.S.A. since 1945.

The American Revolution

The War of Independence (1775 – 1783)

 The relationship between England and the colonies ends up with this war
 Colonies did not want to be taxed, ruled, they wanted first of all economic and
commercial independence, but England wanted to treat them as inferiors to the
mother country  the result was conflict, objection, which did not fit in the
system of mercantilism
 The beginning: General Thomas Gage was appointed acting governor of
Massachusetts (many colonists resented the very presence of the military, and now
one of them was to be the governor of a colony); he knew that things were getting
out of hand, he was aware of the Continental Congress, the militia units around the
colonies and that arms and ammunition were being stored at strategic points as
well  he decided to seize the supplies at Concord, and arrest the major
opposition leaders in Massachusetts (Sam Adams and John Hancock) 
succeeded  led to the famous night ride of Paul Revere (warning the citizens of
the area – „the British are coming”) + to the opening shots of the Revolution at
Lexington (19 April, 1775)
 May, 1775: Second Continental Congress in Philadelphia
 more militant than the first congress
 they still hoped to work things out peacefully  composed a
letter to King George III, a petition for redress of grievances
 appoint George Washington of Virginia as Commander-in-Chief
of the Continental Army
 Colonies: wilderness, almost guerilla-style warfare
 The British: European manner, fought like gentlemen
 The British began to march back to Boston; more and more Minutemen showed up
firing in an unorganized fashion from behind a little rock fence  approximately
300 British dead
 First major battle: June 1775: Bunker Hill: the British won ->Washington called in
command
 Factors pushing things along the road to independence:
 the king delayed a long time in responding the petition and
finally responded very negatively, he called the colonists „rebels”
and began to hire foreign mercenaries against them  the
colonists did not think of themselves as „rebels”, but now some of
them began to think that rebel was the logical thing to do
 many royal colonial officials fled, and the radical element was
able to exercise influence
 if America did declare their independence, such enemies of
England as France, maybe Spain would be glad to help
 February 1776: „Common Sense” by Thomas Paine why
should a little island off the coast of Europe control the continent?
 the longer the fighting went on, the more people found reasons
for being angry at the British
 July 4, 1776: the Declaration of Independence
 influenced by John Locke, authors: Jefferson, Franklin, J.
Adams (Sources: Cicero and Aristotle, Locke and Rousseau):
natural rights and social contract (Jefferson essentially wrote the
document; „self-evident” truths, e.g. equality and „unalienable
rights” – „Life, Liberty and Pursuit of Happiness”)
  the only legitimate reason for the existence of the government is
to secure these rights
 contract between government and governed
 British:  one of the best armies in the world (appr. 60,000 men + mercenaries)
 the best navy in the world
 financial resources (3x as the colonies)
 away from home
 Colonies:  appr. 16,000 men
they had no navy
they had bad financial conditions
 long, indented coastline
 French army, navy, money, volunteers
 Spain allied with France
 Turning point: Saratoga (New York), October, 1777: the US win-> Europe steps in
vs. GB
 A few months later the French entered into a permanent military treaty of alliance
with the United States of America (Benjamin Franklin): Diplomacy: 1778 France
(Franklin); 1779 Spain (Jay); 1780 Holland; League of Armed Neutrality (SU,
Danes, Swe.)
 End: Yorktown (Virginia), October, 1781. the final victory
1783 September 3: Treaty of Paris: the British recognized the independence of the United
States of America, boundaries, fishing rights, compensation and GB troops staying in New
England and the old Northwest, SP and navigation on the Mississippi.

THE CIVIL WAR DECADE

Historical Background

- After the War of 1812, there came the ‘Era of Good Feeling’.

- Slavery was a major issue in the first half of the 19 th century; following the War of 1812,
there was a balance between the number of free and slave states in the Union (11 free states
and 11 slave states).

- Compromise of 1820: (created by Henry Clay) Missouri was admitted into the Union as a
slave state, and Maine as a free state and the Louisiana territory was divided into slave and
free land  the balance between the free and slave states was maintained (now 12-12 each).

- 1848: it was the end of the Mexican-American War, and the United States acquired a
massive chunk of territory (Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo: US gained Texas, established the
U.S.-Mexican border of the Rio Grande River and acquired the present-day states of
California, Nevada, Utah, and parts of Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico, and Wyoming.)
 question: whether slavery would be allowed to expand into the newly gained territory or
not

- Compromise of 1850: (also created by Henry Clay) the balance of free and slave states were
upset. California gained admission into the Union without slavery, and no slave state was
admitted. Some radical Southerners were ready to secede from the Union, but there was a
major concession for them in the Compromise: a strong fugitive slave law that gave the
Southern slave owners basically everything they had been asking for in terms of protection
against their slaves running away. As a result, more and more Northerners refused to support
the fugitive slave law and instead they supported the activities of the Underground Railroad,
the network of people devoted to help the escape of the slaves.

- The Kansas-Nebraska Act (1854): (created by Stephen A. Douglas) It is often said to be the
point at which Civil War became inevitable. It was the second time that the balance between
free and slave states was upset. The act ruled that on the newly acquired territories of Kansas
and Nebraska, the issue of slavery should be decided not according to the Missouri
Compromise, but on the basis of “popular sovereignty”. This meant that the decision was
made by those who lived in those two areas, regardless of the fact that both were north of the
Missouri Compromise line Thus, many southerners saw a chance to get another slave state,
while many northerners felt a “sacred agreement” had been violated. As a result a “civil war”
broke out in Kansas, where both pro- and anti-slavery settlers determined to claim the
territory as their own.

- In 1857, the Dred Scott Case further aggravated the conflict between the North and the
South. Dred Scott, a Missouri slave, sued for his freedom on the basis of his temporary
residence in free territory after his master took him into the state of Illinois and Minnesota
Territory. Nevertheless, the Supreme Court ruled against him, and it was a really pro-
Southern, pro-slavery and anti-black decision. The Court ruled that he was nothing but
property and he had no rights. The Court also declared all restrictions on slavery
unconstitutional, and this decision pushed the country another step closer to the civil war.

- In 1859, John Brown’s raid occurred. He wanted to instigate an uprising of slaves, and
already secured the support of some abolitionists. His aim was to seize arms and ammunition
from a federal arsenal at Harpers Ferry, Virginia. When he seized the arsenal, US army troops
caught him. Consequently, he was convicted and hanged for treason,. In the North, Brown
was considered a martyr; in the South, he was vilified. His activities became the latest of
series of events deepening the division between North and South.

- After this the presidential election of 1860 followed.

The Democrats split, the regular majority nominating Douglas on a platform of popular
sovereignty, the radical southerners holding their own convention and nominating John C.
Breckenridge of Kentucky. But at the end of the day, the Republican candidate, Abraham
Lincoln, who emphasized his party’s opposition to any further expansion of slavery, was the
winner.

- Radical southerners had threatened to secede if a “Black Republican” were elected to the
presidency. Probably the majority of southerners were against immediate secession, but a well-
organized minority pushed it through, first in South Carolina, then within two months in
Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas. Representatives of those seven
states met in Montgomery, Alabama, on February 8, 1861, a month before Lincoln was even
inaugurated, and formed the so-called Confederate States of America (the Confederacy), with
Jefferson Davis of Mississippi as their President.

- Lincoln’s inaugural address: Secession, he said, was unconstitutional. As a result, those

attempting it were in rebellion against the government, and this revolt must be put down.
Civil War (1861-1865)

- In the harbor at Charleston, in April of 1861, the first shots of the Civil War were fired. Lincoln
issued a call for volunteers to put down the rebellion and he thought it would only take ninety
days.

- States that had been holding back were now forced to choose. Virginia, North Carolina,
Tennessee, and Arkansas chose the Confederacy, completing its eleven states. (Several states
which did have slavery remained loyal: Delaware, Maryland, Missouri, and Kentucky.)

- From the very beginning of the Civil War, all the advantages seemed to be in favor of the
North.
 North: the population: 22 million people; they had 90% of the manufacturing and practically
all the military supplies and enlisted men; the war took place not on their territory; they wanted
to keep Europe out of the conflict
 South: population: 9 million (of which 3.5 million slaves); they were basically agricultural;
they had more high-ranking officers than the North; the war took place on their terrain  they
were familiar with the territory and had short supply lines; they wanted foreign assistance

Commander of the Confederate troops: Robert E. Lee

General in the Union army: ‘Tecumseh’ Sherman

In the early stages of the war, the South extinguished itself, but gradually, the North’s
advantages became visible.

Theaters of War:

Washington, D.C. - Richmond, VA

a: prelude: July 1861, Bull Run: N lost => Gen. George B. McClellan: hesitant, union over
abolition: Lincoln on McClellan, January 1862: 'If General McClellan does not want to
use the army, I would like to borrow it, provided I could see how it could be made to do
something.'
b: Antietam, September 1862: Lee stopped in the N.
c: Chancellorsville, May 1863: Lee won but lost his right-hand man: 'Stonewall' Jackson; moves
into the N again: stopped at Gettysburg, PA (The Red Badge of Courage)
d: Grant takes command 1864-65: Lee surrenders at Appomattox Court House, April 1865

West:
N: cut up the S: along the Mississippi-Missouri and then across to the Atlantic: food supplies
gone; 1862: New Orleans;
July 1863: Vicksburg, Grant; September - November: Chattanooga, Grant
1864-65 'Tecumseh' Sherman's march to the sea (Atlanta to Savannah, GA)=> Lee encircled:
Sherman from S, Grant from N: could not get out:
CW ends at Appomattox Court House (April 1865)]

- The two major turning point battles:

1. Gettysburg (July 1–3, 1863) in Pennsylvania, the eastern theater of the war, when the Union
repulsed the Confederacy’s sole attempt to invade northern territory.
2. Vicksburg (May 18 – July 4, 1863) in Mississippi, the western theater of the war, when the
Union gained control of the all-important Mississippi River.

- By the spring of 1865, the South was drained of men, supplies, and morale.
In April, General Robert E. Lee surrendered Confederate forces to US forces led by General
Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Court House in Virginia. The Civil War was over.

- There were 2 major domestic acts that came into effect during the Civil War:
 1862, Homestead Act: it was a United States federal law that gave freehold title to 160 acres
of undeveloped land in the American West. The person to whom the title was granted had to be at
least 21 years of age and had to live in a house (12 by 14 feet) for 5 years.
 1863, Proclamation Act: it was the culmination of the abolitionist movement. The Act
declared that all slaves who were ready to fight for the Union would be free.

Evaluation of the war:

- it was the deadliest war in American history, causing the death of 620,000 soldiers
- it was not the same as the modern WWs of the 20th century; the technology was developed but
did not reach the level of the 20th century war technology
- the United States became one nation, and no state could withdraw from the Union
- the ‘a house divided cannot stand’ idea won
- all slaves in the Confederacy were freed by the Emancipation Proclamation , and the complete system
of slavery was abolished after the war with the 13th Amendment

The Reconstruction Era

- Reconstruction is the period between the end of the Civil War (1865) and the Compromise of
1877, aiming to restore the unity of the country and reintegrate the South into the Union.

The era consisted of 3 periods:

1. Presidential Reconstruction
- It started with Lincoln’s 10% plan in 1863, according to which a state could be reintegrated into
the Union when 10 percent of voters had taken an oath of allegiance to the U.S. and pledged to
abide by emancipation.
- The Wade-Davis Bill of 1864 was a program proposed for the Reconstruction of the South
written by two Radical Republicans, Senator Benjamin Wade of Ohio and Representative Henry
Winter Davis of Maryland. They wanted to take the oath of loyalty on the basis of the vote of the
majority, which was much stricter than Lincoln’s 10% plan. The bill passed both houses of
Congress in 1864, but was pocket vetoed by Lincoln and never took effect.
- In 1865, when the Civil War came to an end, President Abraham Lincoln was assassinated.
After his death, the southern Democratic vice-president, Andrew Johnson, took over the
presidency.
Johnson rejected the Radical program of harsh, lengthy Reconstruction and instead appointed his
own governors and tried to finish the process of reconstruction by the end of 1865. By early
1866, full-scale political warfare existed between Johnson (now allied with the Democrats) and
the Radicals; he vetoed laws and issued orders that contradicted Congressional legislation.
Johnson’s administration meant a series of scandals. The radicals in the Congress impeached
him, but his conviction failed by one vote, so he could remain the president.

2. Congressional Reconstruction (1866-1873)

- This period involved the military occupation of the South.
- However, one state, Tennessee, was readmitted to the Union.
- The 10 other Southern states were divided into 5 districts of military occupation.
- In this phase, 3 amendments to the Constitution were ratified:
 The 13th Amendment, ratified in 1865, abolished slavery.
 The 14th Amendment, proposed in 1866 and ratified in 1868, defined citizenship to all persons
born or naturalized in the US.
 The 15th Amendment, ratified in 1870, granted voting rights regardless of race, color, or
previous condition of servitude.
These are often referred as Civil War or Reconstructional Amendments.
- The South was forced to choose. It could either go on with the resistance, or it could surrender
and accept the Congressional Reconstruction.  However, the South resisted, the states were not
willing to cooperate with the North, they refused to take an oath of loyalty on the Constitution,
and they also rejected the amendments.
- In addition, it was the period when the Southern secret terrorist organization, the Ku Klux
Klan (KKK) appeared on the scene. The organization was established by Southern whites in
Tennessee in 1866. Its aim was to preserve white supremacy and superiority in the South, and
they often happened to lynch Blacks. The organization was soon declared illegal and it was
disbanded, but reorganized in the 1910s.
- There are several contradictions about the Reconstruction Era. Theoretically speaking, the 15 th
Amendment to the Constitution provided equal voting rights for the Blacks, and the 13th
Amendment abolished slavery. However, this was the time when the Black Codes were created.
These are laws, passed on the state and local level in the USA to restrict the civil rights of the
Black Americans. Examples are the Jim Crow Laws, passed between 1876 and 1965, that
mandated ‘separate but equal’ status for Black Americans. The most important laws required that
public schools, public places and public transportation should have separate facilities for Blacks
and whites.

3. Redemption (1873-1877)
- In the last period of the Reconstruction, the resistance of South continued, and white
Southerners (calling themselves “Redeemers”) defeated the Republicans and took control of each
Southern state, marking the end of the Reconstruction.
- During this period, Ulysses S. Grant was the president (1869-1877).

- The Reconstruction era ended with the Compromise of 1877. In the presidential election of
1876, the Republicans could not acquire the necessary votes in the Electoral College to have
their own candidate, Rutherford B. Hayes nominated. As a result, a compromise was struck
between the North and the South: Hayes was awarded the presidency (1877-1881) and in return
the military occupation of South ended.

- Taking everything into consideration, the Reconstruction of the South into the Union was never
completed. The Reconstruction is considered to be a revenge by the North for the Civil War, and
the North’s punishment of the South. However, the North did not achieve its aim. In the end,
there was a consensus between the North and the South that eventually led to the
institutionalization of racial segregation.
7. Entertainment and the mass media in the U.S.A. Television in U.S. culture. Major
television networks. The printed media: major American newspapers (choose 5 for
your survey) and magazines (choose 15). Popular culture. Advertising.

“MEDIA STATE”

The term media, understood broadly, includes any channel of information through which
information can pass. Mass communication has revolutionized the modern world. The United
States, as a country in which access to power is through the media, is often called a media
state. The print and broadcasting media not only convey information to the public, but also
influence public opinion. Television, with access to virtually every American household, is a
powerful influence. The broadcast media, capable of mass-producing messages and images
instantaneously, have been largely responsible for homogenizing cultural and regional
diversities across the country. Beyond this cultural significance, the power of the media is
important to politicians, who use the media to influence voters; and to businessmen and
women, who use the media to encourage consumption to their products.

NEWSPAPERS AND MAGAZINES

Newspapers and magazines have long been major lines of communication and have always
reached large audiences. Today, thousands of different periodicals are published as either
weekly, monthly, bimonthly, quarterly, or semiannual editions. Readership levels, however,
are not as high as they once were. Newspapers have had to cope with competition from radio
and television. Studies show that most suburban readers prefer to get “serious” news from
television and tend to read newspapers primarily for comics, sports, fashions, crime reports,
and local news. Accordingly, newspapers have made changes to increase their readership
levels. To meet the public demand for more feature material, some publishers have started
adding “lifestyle” and “home living” sections to their papers to make them more like
magazines.

Another trend which has accompanied the decline in readership and number of publications is
the dramatic decline in competition. Variety at local and national levels has been reduced as
media operations have become concentrated in the hands of just a few publishers and
corporations. New York City is a good example. In the 1920s people in Manhattan could
choose from fourteen different morning and evening dailies. Thirty years later, the choice was
reduced by half, and at the end of the century New York had only two morning papers, the
Times and the News. In other areas around the country, the percentages of cities with
competing newspapers have decreased dramatically as publishers are driven out of business
by larger competitors. More and more of the remaining newspapers are under chain or group
control. Chain publishers own newspapers all over the country, they comprise more than one
third of the total daily newspaper circulation in the United States.

The U.S. has never had a national press or newspaper with a mass national circulation like
The Times and The Daily Telegraph in Britain or the leading papers in other countries.
However, the influence of a few large metropolitan newspapers, most notable the New York
Times and the Washington Post, has increased so that these papers come close to constituting a
national press.

Most newspapers rely heavily on wire copy from the two major news services, the Associated
Press (AP) and United Press International (UPI), which gather national and international news
stories and sell them to subscribing newspapers. The stories reported in major papers often
influence other news media. Newspapers around the country and, significantly, television
news programs take a lead from the Times in deciding what is and is not a big story. When the
Times ceased publication for several weeks in 1978, there was clear evidence of television
news programs’ lack of direction.

Freedom of the Press

The mass media in the United States claim explicit recognition of their right to be free from
government control and censorship. The First Amendment of the Constitution states:
“Congress shall make no law…abridging the freedom…of the press.” Government and media
often engage in confrontations when reporters disclose classified information or pursue
investigative reporting to uncover injustices and corruption within American institutions.

Top 20 U.S. Newspapers – the biggest selling newspapers in the USA

1. Wall Street Journal (New York)

2. USA Today (Virginia)
3. New York Times (New York)
4. Los Angeles Times (California)
5. Washington Post (District of Columbia)
6. New York Daily News (New York)
7. Chicago Tribune (Illinois)
8. Newsday (New York)
9. Houston Chronicle (Texas)
10. Dallas Morning News (Texas)
11. Chicago Sun Times (Illinois)
12. Boston Globe (Massachusetts)
13. San Francisco Chronicle (California)
14. New York Post (New York)
15. Arizona Republic (Arizona)
16. Newark Star Ledger (New Jersey)
17. Philadelphia Inquirer (Pennsylvania)
18. Rocky Mountain News (Colorado)
19. Cleveland Plain Dealer (Ohio)
20. San Diego Union Tribune (California)

Wall Street Journal, USA Today, New York Times and the Washington Post are found at every
corner in the United States. They send the newspapers via e-mail then people print them
locally and then distribute them everywhere.
New York Times, USA Today and the Washington Post own the most popular online fronts in
the newspaper world.

International Herald Tribune: It is an English language newspaper for American people living
outside the United States.

* There are TELeasy Kiosks in the United States, where the exact copy of the chosen
newspaper is printed within a few minutes in any language. These machines instantly print
from a selection of over 250 newspapers.

Some of the most popular magazines in the USA

TV Guide Glamour Bon Appetit

Reader’s Digest Penthouse The American Hunter
National Geographic Smithsonian True Story
Family Circle U.S. News & World Report Changing Times
Woman’s Day Southern Living Woman’s World
Good Housekeeping Money Boys’ Life
Ladies’ Home JournalSeventeen Mademoiselle
Time Popular Science Vogue
Guideposts Home & Away Golf Digest
Star Parents New Woman
Playboy Popular Mechanics Home Mechanics
Newsweek Country Living The Family Handyman
People Globe ‘Teen
Sports Illustrated Adventure Road Travel & Leisure
Cosmopolitan Discovery Rolling Stone
American Legion Sunset Self

RADIO AND TELEVISION

Unlike many other countries, the United States has no national broadcast programming
services, there are no national television stations instead they have local media markets, which
have their own television stations.

Theoretically, anyone in the United States can start a newspaper or magazine, but to become a
radio or television broadcaster one must be granted a portion of the limited radio-television
spectrum by the government’s licensing board, the Federal Communications Commission
(FCC). For the most part, the American broadcasting system has always been a commercial
system. It is supported by money from businesses that pay to advertise goods or services to
the audience. Advertising messages are usually presented as 15, 30, or 60-second commercial
announcements before, during, and after programs. Commercial broadcasting is a huge
industry bringing in profits of about 1.8 billion dollars annually. The funding for public
broadcasting comes primarily from congressional appropriations, grants from foundations,
and contributions from viewers. The programs, often educational or cultural, appeal to a
highly selective audience.

In 1984, there were over 8000 commercial AM and FM radio stations and over 850
commercial television stations. Most radio stations offer listeners a variety of music
programs, including country-western, pop music, classical music, and jazz. Other stations
feature news, talk interviews and discussions, and religious programs exclusively.

Some Radio Stations:

Alabama Public Radio Kiss fm California

The beat of Hawaii Colorado Public Radio
Chicago Public Radio New Orleans Jazz
Long Island’s Greatest Hits Michigan Radio Network
Cleveland’s Rock Station Talk of Connecticut

Broadcast Television in Other Languages

Univision, Telemundo
TeleFortuna, Azteca America

Networks
Most commercial television stations are affiliated with one of the three major networks, ABC,
CBS, and NBC. Networks are essentially program distribution companies. A network buys
programs from independent television production companies, most of which are located in
Hollywood, and distributes these programs across the country to television stations that are
affiliated with the network. The network is paid by advertisers to insert commercial
announcements on the programs the network buys. Because networks are commercial systems
dependent on advertising, they compete with each other for viewers and are intent on
choosing programs that will win high audience ratings.

Top Cable Networks

MTV (music) Nick (children’s)

CNN (news) Discovery Channel (documentaries)
Sci Fi (science fiction) TBS (comedy)
Disney Channel (family) TNT (drama)
Lifetime (women’s)

Cable systems must include local over-the-air stations in their offerings to customers!

Programming

Programs that aim at mass entertainment are preferred over educational and news programs.
Evening news programs and other news shows are often criticized for concentrating
themselves with entertainment. Critics charge that networks often emphasize the personalities
of newscasters at the expense of issues of public importance.

Cable Television

Viewers whose tastes are not satisfied by the many offerings of network and local programs
are now increasing their options by subscribing to cable television. Cable television
companies receive signals from television stations through a larger master antenna or dish and
relay the signal into the homes of subscribers by wires attached to home receivers. Cable
companies can program 40 different channels, providing viewers with many specialized
programs such as Hollywood musicals, local theater productions, and recent film releases.

Satellite Television

Satellite TV was originally designed to offer a greater selection of programs to people in rural
areas that could not easily be connected to the cable system. It now provides anybody who is
ready to have a satellite dish installed in his or her backyard with the same programming as
cable TV. There has been a controversy recently as to the viewer’s right to freely receive
signals that are beamed down onto his or her property. The so-called superstations, which are
in fact small independent stations, utilize the power of both cable and satellite to program
nationwide. Conventional television has had to struggle to retain its audience as people switch
over to cable viewing, satellite TV or renting video cassettes.

Issues

As responsive as television is to audience ratings, many critics complain that producers and
network executives should be more sensitive to the effects of television violence on children
and adults. The debate over the possible link between the amount of violence on television
and the amount of violence in society has not yet been resolved. However, protest did lead to
the introduction of “family viewing time” from seven to nine o’clock in the evening. During
these hours, adult programs containing violence and sexual suggestiveness are kept to a
minimum. There is a considerable amount of citizen involvement on other issues as well. For
example, there are groups that lobby for a better standard of children’s television, and other
groups associated with the religious right which objects to explicit language and immorality
on the television screen.

8. Holidays in the United States. International, religious, and patriotic holidays. Iconic
patriotic shrines in America.

Technically there are no national holidays in the U.S.; each state has jurisdiction over its
holidays, which are designated by legislative enactment or executive proclamation. In
practice, however, most states observe the federal legal public holidays even though the
President or Congress can legally designate holidays only for the District of Columbia and for
federal employees. When a holiday falls on a Sunday or Saturday it is usually observed on the
following Monday or preceding Friday.

PATRIOTIC HOLIDAYS

MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. DAY (3rd Monday in January): Designated a federal holiday
during the Reagan administration, MLK Day commemorates the many achievements of the
Afro-Americans and their civil rights movements. It also marks the beginning of Black
History Month, which is February in each year.

PREDISENT'S DAY (3rd Monday in February): Originally Washington’s birthday, this is now
a federal holiday commemorating all US presidents.

MEMORIAL DAY (the last Monday in May, also known as Decoration Day): In 1868, the
Commander-in-Chief of the Grand Army of the Republic issued an order designating the day
as one in which the graves of soldiers would be decorated. Originally established to honor the
Civil War dead, Memorial Day now officially honors all American servicemen who gave their
lives for their country. Unofficially, the holiday has been extended beyond its military
connection to become a day of general tribute to the dead. Yet the military nature of Memorial
Day is evident in the parades and customs which solemnly mark the occasion. Military
exercises are held at Gettysburg National Military Park in Pennsylvania and at the National
Cemetery in Arlington, Va.

INDEPENDENCE DAY (July 4): Observed in all the states. It commemorates the adoption
of the Declaration of Independence in 1776. It is THE national holiday for Americans, and
they celebrate it with fireworks and festivities. Each year, The New York Times reprints the
Declaration of Independence.

COLUMBUS DAY (2nd Monday In October): It grew out of an Italian-American holiday in

California (1850s), and became a federal one in 1937. It commemorates the “discovery” of
the Americas. It is a hotly debated holiday.

THANKSGIVING DAY (4th Thursday in November): Arguably the biggest holiday in the
States, this one commemorates the survival of the Pilgrims in the New World. This is a long
holiday (usually four days, although the Friday after is a workday), and families get together
for company and meals. Typical Thanksgiving meals include turkey and cranberry sauce. The
Christmas shopping season starts the Friday after Thanksgiving with huge one-day sales.

ELECTION DAY (1st Tuesday after the first Monday in November): This is the day
Americans go to vote. The day was set for the second business day of the month to give time
to businessmen to draw the balance of October on the first business day. Note that there is no
campaign silence in the US.

VETERANS’ DAY (November 11): Formerly Armistice Day, to commemorate victory in the
First World War. It is now a holiday for all veterans of foreign wars, and Americans honor the
tomb of the unknown soldier.

INTERNATIONAL HOLIDAYS
ST. VALENTINE'S DAY (February 14): festival of a martyr beheaded at Rome under
Emperor Claudius. Association of this day with lovers has no connection with the saint and
probably had its origin in an old belief that on this day birds begin to choose their mates.
Today it is a festival of romance and affection. Shortly before February 14, card shops, book
stores, department stores, and drug stores display a wide assortment of greeting cards called
valentines. Most valentines are illustrated with the symbolic red heart; many show a picture of
Cupid with his bow and arrow; some contain tender verses. The plainer ones simply say, "Be
my Valentine". For specific family members, sweethearts and friends, there are valentines in
every imaginable style -- sentimental, restrained, sophisticated, humorous, or insulting.

MOTHER'S DAY (2nd Sunday in May): In Hungary, it is the 1st Sunday in May.

FATHER'S DAY (3rd Sunday in June)

NEW YEAR'S DAY (January 1): Following a long, hectic New Year's Eve, Americans spend
a quiet, leisurely New Year's Day. Two picturesque New Day festivals receive widespread
attention and coverage by the news media: the Mummer's Parade and the Tournament of
Roses. Both these events have been American traditions for more than half a century. The
Mummer's Parade, which takes place in Philadelphia, is a ten-hour spectacle that usually
attracts more than a million spectators. In the colorful and high-spirited parade, the men are
dressed in lavish costumes. Some impersonate women since no women are allowed to
participate. There are clowns, musicians, dancers, and floats -- altogether about 17,000
marchers led by King Momus dressed in gleaming satin. The Tournament of Roses takes place
in Pasadena, California. Elaborate floats displaying roses and thousands of other California
flowers depict a different theme each year. Prices are awarded for the most unusual and
attractive floral displays. After the parade, the Rose Bowl football game, a contest between
two top-ranking college football teams, is played. These three events attract thousands of
tourists and millions of TV viewers.

RELIGIOUS HOLIDAYS

MARDI GRAS (the last day before Ash Wednesday: sometime between February 3 and
March 9): celebrated as a carnival in various cities in the South. The most famous American
Mardi Gras festival is held in New Orleans each year. It is based on a French Catholic
tradition.

ST. PATRICK'S DAY (March 17): traditionally celebrated by Irish societies, esp. with
parades, church services, banquets, and "the wearing of the green," the color which
symbolizes the south of Ireland. Green cloth shamrocks (three-leaf clovers which St. Patrick
used to explain the Trinity and which have now come to symbolize the Irish nation) are sold
in the streets and worn by millions on this day. Saint Patrick was a Christian missionary,
patron saint of Ireland, called the "Apostle of Ireland", who in the latter part of the 4th century
introduced Christianity to a pagan nation.

CHRISTMAS DAY (December 25): Most of the Christmas customs which Americans enjoy
today are variations of traditions taken there by European immigrants. As regards some of the
most popular customs (eg. sending Christmas cards, singing Christmas carols, decorating
trees) there is no substantial difference between how this holiday is celebrated in the U.S. or
in Hungary. There are, however, some differences:
 In the U.S., Christmas is a one-day holiday. There is no Boxing Day. Exchanging gifts
in the US normally takes place not at Christmas Eve, like in Hungary, but on the
following morning.
 Santa Claus is the American name for St. Nicholas, whose feast day (December 6) is
observed in Hungary, but not in the U.S.A. Dutch immigrants took the concept of St.
Nicholas to America, where the name was mispronounced and finally changed to
Santa Claus. 19th-century artists and authors altered St. Nick's appearance and created
the roly-poly man in red that we see today. Santa's sleigh and reindeer were derived
from an old Norse legend.
 Many American children believe that on Christmas Eve Santa Claus slides down their
chimney to bring them gifts. According to the story, Santa Claus travels in a sleigh
pulled by eight reindeer. Children tell Santa Claus what toys they want by writing him
a letter or visiting him in a local department store. As in Britain, children in the US
hang stockings by the fireplace, hoping that Santa will fill them with candy and toys.
 Decorating the home with evergreens and other plants. The winter custom of
decorating homes and churches with evergreens began in ancient times. Branches of
fir or spruce were thought to bring good luck and guarantee the return of spring.
Likewise, a branch of mistletoe was hung over doorways for good luck. Today the
custom continues, but now it is for fun. A man may kiss any girl he catches standing
under the mistletoe. The poinsettia plant is another familiar Christmas decoration. Its
star-shaped red leaves are an ideal symbol of the holiday. It is a distinctly modern and
American Christmas tradition.

FEDERAL LEGAL PUBLIC HOLIDAYS

LABOR DAY (1st Monday in September): It was first celebrated in New York in 1882 under
the sponsorship of the Central Labor Union. The achievements which Americans honor on LD
are primarily those of the labor unions. Pressure exerted by the unions forced the passage of
much legislation to protect the working man. The typical American family use the three-day
weekend -- occurring just before most of the nation's schools reopen -- as a final summer
vacation. This is NOT the European Labor Day of May 1st.

DAYS USUALLY OBSERVED

GROUNDHOG DAY (February 2): a popular belief is that if the groundhog (or woodchuck,
a marmot of eastern North America) sees his shadow after he emerges from hibernation on
this day, he returns to his burrow and winter continues six weeks longer.

MAY DAY: the first day of May, traditionally celebrated as a spring festival by crowning
May Queen, dancing around a maypole, etc., and in recent times celebrated as Labor Day in
most of the world by demonstrations commemorating labor. This is NOT the American labor
Day.

HALLOWEEN (Oct. 31): the evening before All Saints' Day. Informally observed in the US
with masquerading and pumpkin decorations. Traditionally an occasion for children to play
pranks, for example "trick-or-treating": if an adult refuses to supply a treat -- candy, cookies,
fruit, or money -- the children may play a trick. Typical Halloween pranks are soaping
windows, writing on doors with crayons, overturning ash cans, and sticking pins into
doorbells to keep them ringing. The "spooky" part of Halloween (a short way of saying 'All
Hallow's Eve') comes from the Celts. Every years on October 31, the last day of the year on
the old pagan calendar, the Druids (Celtic priests and teachers) built huge bonfires to scare
away the demons of evil and death. They dressed in ugly and frightening costumes so that the
demons would think that they were one of them and do them no harm. Supposedly, on this
evening, ghosts rose from their graves and witches drove through the air on broomsticks or
black cats. Also, the souls of dead relatives and friends were expected to return to earth for a
visit. The Druid bonfires were built on hilltops to help guide these spirits back home. From
the Druid religion, then, come the custom of masquerading and the symbols of Halloween:
ghosts, skeletons, devils, witches, black cats, and owls. The jack-o'-lantern is also of Celtic
origin. It was an Irish custom to hollow out turnips and place lighted candles inside them to
scare evil spirits away from the house. In the U.S., the native pumpkin is used to make a jack-
o'-lantern. First the pumpkin is hollowed out; then holes are cut in the shell to make the eyes,
nose, and mouth. A candle is put inside, and the jack-o'-lantern is placed by the window. The
Irish also introduced the "trick-or-treat" custom hundreds of years ago. Groups of farmers
would travel from house to house requesting food for the village's Halloween festivities. They
would promise good luck to generous contributors and threaten those who were stingy.

For further information and trivia you may check the homepage of the US Embassy in
Budapest and the various internet encyclopedias: Encarta, Wikipedia, etc.

Another website (worldfactsandfigurs.com) offers information on various countries for

comparison.

9. Images of America. Emblems, culture- and region-specific configurations. Iconic

manifestations. Images as ideological statements. Stereotypy. The contributions of
literature and popular culture to the iconography of the U.S.A.

Images and Symbols of America

The Statue of Liberty
The Statue of Liberty was presented to the United States by the people of France in
1886. Standing on Liberty Island in New York Harbor, it welcomes visitors, immigrants,
and returning Americans traveling by ship. The copper-clad statue commemorates the
centennial of the signing of the United States Declaration of Independence and was given to
the United States to represent the friendship established during the American Revolution.
The statue is of a robed woman holding a torch, and is made of a sheeting of pure
copper, hung on a framework of steel with the exception of the flame of the torch, which is
coated in gold leaf. It stands atop a rectangular stonework pedestal with a foundation in the
shape of an irregular eleven-pointed star.
Worldwide, the Statue of Liberty is one of the most recognizable icons of the United
States and was, from 1886 until the jet age, often one of the first glimpses of the United States
for millions of immigrants after ocean voyages from Europe.

Stars and Stripes

The flag of the United States consists of thirteen equal horizontal stripes of red (top
and bottom) alternating with white, with a blue rectangle in the canton bearing fifty small,
white, five-pointed stars arranged in nine offset horizontal rows of six stars (top and bottom)
alternating with rows of five stars. The fifty stars on the flag represent the fifty U.S. states and
the thirteen stripes represent the original thirteen colonies that rebelled against the British
Crown and became the first states in the Union. Nicknames for the flag include the Stars and
Stripes, Old Glory, and The Star-Spangled Banner.
Because of its symbolism, the starred blue canton is called the "union". This part of the
flag can stand alone as a maritime flag called the Union Jack.
The flag of the United States is one of the nation's most widely recognized symbols.
Within the U.S. it is frequently displayed, not only on public buildings, but on private
residences. It is also used as a motif on decals for car windows, and clothing ornaments such
as badges and lapel pins. Throughout the world it is used in public discourse to refer to the
U.S., both as a nation state, government, and set of policies, but also as an ideology and set of
ideas.
Many understand the flag to represent the national government established in the U.S.
Constitution, the rights of the citizens promised in the 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. The flag is a complex and contentious symbol, around which emotions run
high.

Apart from the numbers of stars and stripes representing the number of current and
original states, respectively, and the union with its stars representing a constellation, there is
no legally defined symbolism to the colors and shapes on the flag. However, folk theories and
traditions abound; for example, that the stripes refer to rays of sunlight and that the stars refer
to the heavens, the highest place that a person could aim to reach.

The Star-Spangled Banner:

"The Star-Spangled Banner" is the national anthem of the United States of America.
The lyrics come from a poem written in 1814 by Francis Scott Key who wrote "Defence of
Fort McHenry" after seeing the bombardment of Fort McHenry at Baltimore, Maryland, by
Royal Navy ships in the Chesapeake Bay during the War of 1812.
 The poem was set to the tune of a popular British drinking song, written by John
Stafford Smith for the Anacreontic Society, a London social club. "The Anacreontic Song"
(or "To Anacreon in Heaven"), set to various lyrics, was already popular in the United States.
Set to Key's poem and renamed "The Star-Spangled Banner", it would soon become a well-
known American patriotic song. With a range of one and a half octaves, it is known for being
difficult to sing. Although the song has four stanzas, only the first is commonly sung today.
"The Star-Spangled Banner" was made the national anthem by a congressional
resolution on March 3, 1931, which was signed by President Herbert Hoover.
Before 1931, other songs served as the hymns of American officialdom. "My Country,
'Tis of Thee", whose melody was derived from the British national anthem,[2] served as a de
facto national anthem of the United States before the adoption of "The Star-Spangled
Banner";[3] and "Hail, Columbia," served as the de facto national anthem from Washington's
time and through the 18th and 19th centuries. Following the War of 1812 and subsequent
American wars, other songs would emerge to compete for popularity at public events, among
them "The Star-Spangled Banner".

Bald Eagle:
The Bald Eagle is a bird of prey found in North America that is most recognizable as
the national bird and symbol of the United States of America. It represents the traits of
courage, independence, and strength. It is a large eagle with white-feathered head and neck.
The species was on the brink of extinction in the continental United States late in the 20th
century, but now has a stable population and has been officially removed from the U.S.
federal government's list of endangered species. The Bald Eagle was officially reclassified
from "Endangered" to "Threatened" on July 12, 1995 by the United States Fish and Wildlife
Service. The Bald Eagle remains a protected and highly revered species in the United States,
and to willfully and fatally shoot or harm the species is a federal offense which can potentially
result in several years of incarceration.

The Great-Seal of the USA:

The Great Seal of the United States is used to authenticate certain documents issued by
the United States federal government. The phrase is used both for the physical seal itself
(which is kept by the United States Secretary of State), and more generally for the design
impressed upon it. The Great Seal was first used publicly in 1782.
The design on the obverse of the great seal is the national coat of arms of the United
States.[1] It is officially used on documents such as United States passports, military insignia,
embassy placards, and various flags. As a coat of arms, the design has official colors; the
physical Great Seal itself, as affixed to paper, is monochrome.
Since 1935, both sides of the Great Seal appear on the reverse of the one-dollar bill.
The Seal of the President of the United States is directly based on the Great Seal, and its
elements are used in numerous government agency and state seals.

Liberty Bell:
The Liberty Bell, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is one of the most prominent
symbols of the American Revolutionary War. It is a familiar symbol of independence
within the United States and has been described as an icon of liberty and justice.
 According to tradition, its most famous ringing occurred on July 8, 1776, to summon
citizens of Philadelphia for the reading of the Declaration of Independence. Historians today
consider this highly doubtful, as the steeple in which the bell was hung had deteriorated
significantly by that time. The bell had also been rung to announce the opening of the First
Continental Congress in 1774 and after the Battle of Lexington and Concord in 1775.
The Liberty Bell was known as the "Independence Bell" or the "Old Yankee's Bell"
until 1837, when it was adopted by the American Anti-Slavery Society as a symbol of the
abolitionist movement.

The Washington Monument:

The Washington Monument is a large, tall, sand-colored obelisk near the west end of
the National Mall in Washington, D.C. It is a United States Presidential Memorial made of
marble, granite, and sandstone, is both the world's tallest stone structure and the world's tallest
obelisk and it is also the tallest structure in Washington D.C. It was designed by Robert
Mills, an architect of the 1840s. The actual construction of the monument began in 1848 but
was not completed until 1884, almost 30 years after the architect's death. This hiatus in
construction happened because of co-option by the Know-Nothing party, a lack of funds, and
the intervention of the American Civil War. A difference in shading of the marble, visible
approximately 150 feet (46 m) up, shows where construction was halted for a number of
years. Its cornerstone was laid on July 4, 1848; the capstone was set on December 6, 1884,
and the completed monument was dedicated on February 21, 1885. It officially opened
October 9, 1888. Upon completion, it became the world's tallest structure, a title it inherited
from the Cologne Cathedral and held until 1889, when the Eiffel Tower was finished in Paris,
France.

Golden Gate Bridge

The Golden Gate Bridge is a suspension bridge spanning the Golden Gate, the opening
of the San Francisco Bay onto the Pacific Ocean. As part of both U.S. Route 101 and State
Route 1, it connects the city of San Francisco on the northern tip of the San Francisco
Peninsula to Marin County. The Golden Gate Bridge was the longest suspension bridge span
in the world when it was completed in 1937, and has become an internationally recognized
symbol of San Francisco and California. Since its completion, the span length has been
surpassed by eight other bridges. It still has the second longest suspension bridge main span in
the United States, after the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge in New York City. In 2007, it was
ranked fifth on the List of America's Favorite Architecture by the American Institute of
Architects.

Niagara Falls:
The Niagara Falls are massive waterfalls on the Niagara River, straddling the
international border between the Canadian province of Ontario and the U.S. state of New
York. The falls are 17 miles (27 km) north-northwest of Buffalo, New York and 75 miles (120
km) south-southeast of Toronto, Ontario, between the twin cities of Niagara Falls, Ontario,
and Niagara Falls, New York.
Niagara Falls is composed of two major sections separated by Goat Island: Horseshoe
Falls, the majority of which lies on the Canadian side of the border, and American Falls on
the American side. The smaller Bridal Veil Falls also is located on the American side,
separated from the main falls by Luna Island. More than six million cubic feet (168,000 m³)
of water falls over the crest line every minute in high flow, and almost 4 million cubic feet
(110,000 m³) on average. It is the most powerful waterfall in North America.
 The Niagara Falls are renowned both for their beauty and as a valuable source of
hydroelectric power. Managing the balance between recreational, commercial, and industrial
uses has been a challenge for the stewards of the falls since the 1800s.

Images of some of the States

Alaska - Moose
The moose was designated the official Alaska land mammal in 1998. Moose are the world's
largest member of the deer family, and the Alaskan moose is the largest of all moose.

Arizona - "The Grand Canyon State"

Arizona's is nickname is The Grand Canyon State. Most of the canyon is within the Grand
Canyon National Park in Arizona. The Grand Canyon is unmatched throughout the world for
the vistas it offers to visitors on the rim. The Grand Canyon attracts about five million visitors
per year.

California - "The Golden State"

Between California's explosive growth following the discovery of gold in 1848, the fields of
golden poppies that appear each spring throughout the state, the golden gate bridge, and the
clear, golden coastal sunsets over the Pacific - California truly is the golden state! Gold is also
one of California's official state colors.

Michigan – “The Great Lake State”

Other typical American images:

McDonald’s
McDonald's Corporation is the world's largest chain of fast food restaurants, serving
nearly 58 million customers daily. McDonald's primarily sells hamburgers, cheeseburgers,
chicken products, French fries, breakfast items, soft drinks, milkshakes, and desserts. More
recently, it has begun to offer salads, wraps and fruit. Many McDonald's restaurants have
included a playground for children and advertising geared toward children, and some have
been redesigned in a more 'natural' style, with a particular emphasis on comfort: introducing
lounge areas and fireplaces, and eliminating hard plastic chairs and tables.
The business began in 1940, with a restaurant opened by brothers Dick and Mac
McDonald in San Bernardino, California. Their introduction of the "Speedee Service
System" in 1948 established the principles of the modern fast-food restaurant.
McDonald's restaurants are found in 119 countries. McDonald's operates over 31,000
restaurants worldwide, employing more than 1.5 million people.

Walt Disney Company

The Walt Disney Company is the largest media and entertainment corporation in the
world. Founded in 1923, by brothers Walt and Roy Disney as an animation studio, it has
become one of the biggest Hollywood studios, and owner and licensor of eleven theme parks
and several television networks, including ABC and ESPN. Disney's corporate headquarters
and primary production facilities are located at The Walt Disney Studios in Burbank,
California. Mickey Mouse serves as the official mascot of The Walt Disney Company.

Route 66
 U.S. Route 66 (also known as the Will Rogers Highway after the humorist, and
colloquially known as the "Main Street of America" or the "Mother Road") was a highway in
the U.S. Highway System. One of the original U.S. highways, Route 66, US Highway 66, was
established in 1926. The famous highway originally ran from Chicago, Illinois, through
Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and California, before ending at
Los Angeles, encompassing a total of 2,448 miles (3,940 km). It was recognized in popular
culture by both a hit song and a television show in the 1950s and 1960s.
Route 66 underwent many improvements and realignments over its lifetime, changing
its path and overall length. Many of the realignments gave travelers faster or safer routes, or
detoured around city congestion. One realignment moved the western endpoint further west
from downtown Los Angeles to Santa Monica.
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 doing business along the route 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 being bypassed by the new Interstate Highway System.

The Oscar
The Academy Awards, popularly known as the Oscars, are presented annually by the
Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) to recognize excellence of
professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers. The formal
ceremony at which the awards are presented is one of the most prominent film award
ceremonies in the world.
The 1st Academy Awards ceremony was held in 1929 in Hollywood to honor
outstanding film achievements of 1927 and 1928.
The 81st Academy Awards honoring the best in film for 2008 was held in 2009 at the
Kodak Theatre in Hollywood with actor Hugh Jackman hosting the ceremony for the first
time.

Oprah Winfrey
Oprah Winfrey is an American television presenter, media mogul and philanthropist.
Her internationally-syndicated talk show, The Oprah Winfrey Show, has earned her multiple
Emmy Awards and is the highest-rated talk show in the history of television. She is also an
influential book critic, an Academy Award nominated actress, and a magazine publisher. She
has been ranked the richest African American of the 20th century, the most philanthropic
African American of all time, and was once the world's only black billionaire. She is also,
according to some assessments, the most influential woman in the world.

American Beliefs and Values

Freedom
Americans commonly regard their society as the freest and best in the world. They like
to think of their country as a welcoming haven for those longing for freedom and opportunity.
They are proud to point out that even today America’s immigration offices are flooded with
hopeful applicants who expect the chance for a better life.
Americans’ understanding of freedom is shaped by the Founding Fathers’ belief that
all people are equal and that the role of the government is to protect each person’s basic
inalienable rights. The notion that America offers freedom for all is an ideal that unifies
Americans and links present to past. Yet this ideal has not always corresponded to reality.
Mobility
A practical solution to a problem is to move elsewhere and make a fresh start. Mobility is not
a sign of aimlessness but optimism. Moving from one place to another is common and
accepted practice. When Americans go house-hunting, their foremost concern is usually how
profitably they will be able to resell the house.

Patriotism
National pride has generally become stronger than regional pride. Flags fly in suburban
neighborhoods, national holidays such as Thanksgiving and Independence Day intensify the
sense of national identity. American patriotism is concentrated upon the particular historic
even of the nation’s creation as a new start and upon the idea of freedom.

Stereotypy

A stereotype is “a belief or idea of what a particular type of person or thing is like.

Stereotypes are often unfair or untrue”.
Common stereotypes:
They are fat - When people start thinking about Americans, fast food is one
those features that come to their minds first. McDonald’s has more than 31,000 restaurants all
over the world so no wonder why McDonald’s became a symbol of America. It is common
knowledge that fast food is extremely unhealthy and it easily makes you fat. According to the
VivaVegie Society’s website, each day one in four Americans eats in a fast food restaurant so
it is not surprising that 60% of the Americans are overweight.
Patriotism – national anthem is played everywhere, American flags can be
found in every single yard,
Guns – Americans believe that a true American should have a gun at home to
protect what he has. They don’t expect help from the government and they don’t feel safe
without a gun.
XL-sizes – large portion of food – fat people – large clothes, large cars, large
houses
Equality – equality exists only in theory, but even Americans admit that
foreigners will always be discriminated, what’s more, even Americans discriminate each
other. Equality no longer exists.

10. Regionalism and multiculturalism in Canada

Regional geography divides the nation into smaller units, i.e. regions. It is not a collection of
miscellaneous facts about a region. Regional geographers must develop the art of selecting
information and the skill of describing themes (people-environment relationships, regional
landscapes, distribution patterns and changing geographical patterns) which characterize
developments and identify trends in certain regions. One of the problems in Canada is how
many regions should be identified, as every valley has its own character and so it could be
divided into hundreds of small regions.

Regions are building blocks; the concept of a hierarchy of regions is fundamental. Smaller
regions should be able to be combined into large regions, and large regions should be able to
be separated into smaller ones.
Some people define regions by statistical or political units, such as counties or census division
– these regions may have few internal similarities in landscapes or occupations.
On a larger scale the general public probably thinks of Canada as groups of provinces.
Geographers often use physical environmental characteristics as regional boundaries,
particularly if they separate or differentiate human activities.

Regions exist in the minds of the persons who define, and accept, the criteria and
characteristics of the region. (Regional geography is to identify and define these
characteristics more accurately.)

Many people have a “REGIONAL CONSCIOUSNESS” which tells them intuitively that their
local area differs in certain distinctive characteristics from other regions. However, because
people now move residences more frequently than a few decades ago, this regional
consciousness is less strong among younger-generation Canadians.

Regions of Canada

Introduction

Canadians sometimes divide the country into three vague regions known as “eastern,”
“western,” and “northern,” but these mean different things to different people (Ontario is east
to people is British Columbia, but west or central to people in Nova Scotia.)
Some geographies have used landform regions for a regional basis. (Dominant natural
characteristics of the Canadian Shield; northern treeline separating Arctic and Subarctic
Canada, and Inuit and Indian people)
It can be divided by human criteria – settled/occupied Canada with higher population
densities and “Northern”/less densely settled Canada – and in most human regionalizations,
French-speaking Canada is considered as different from other parts of Canada.
It can be described in a “heartland-hinterland” framework; southern Ontario and Québec as
the heartland, and the rest as hinterland.
As the nation becomes strongly urbanized, it can be studied as a set of urban-centered regions.
It describes the southern part, but not the northern.
Most commonly, the source’s grouping is by provinces: Canada is divided into six major
regions, w several sub-regions in each one. The regions and their names are well known to
Canadians, and have the advantages of familiarity and national recognition. No single
criterion has been used for defining them: regional boundaries are a mixture of landform and
political criteria. A hierarchy of sub-regions, defined by various criteria, is used because each
of the six large regions has internal diversity. The geographical diversity of Canada could
probably be better illustrated by using ten to twenty regions, but then there would be a danger
of losing sight of aspects of similarity and the “wholeness” of Canada

Atlantic and Gulf Region

It’s something more and something less than the politically defined Atlantic Provinces. The
Labrador section of Newfoundland is geographically part of the Canadian Shield, while Gaspé
Peninsula of Québec is added to the Atlantic Provinces (similar people and economy;
landforms adjoining northern New Brunswick).
Known to many Canadians for its negative economic characteristics of relatively low
incomes, high unemployment, and dependence on federal financial aid and resource based
industries. It lacks a major dominating urban centre to serve as an important internal market.

The Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Lowlands

Geology and landforms define the northern boundary with the Precambrian Canadian Shield.
This visible boundary marks the differences between the agricultural landscapes of the
Lowlands, and the forested, lake-dotted Shield. Small region; more than half of Canada’s
population; almost three-quarters of the value of its manufacturing; “heartland” of Canada;
people and their activities focus on the two largest concentrations in Canada, around Montréal
and Toronto.
High densities of rural population, urban centers and industry; three sub-regions, not
mentioned in the source, and internet sources have different regions.

The Canadian Shield

Largest region in Canada; defined by exposed, old Precambrian rock, that covers half of
mainland Canada; rocky hills, forest and lakes are dominant; natural resources of minerals,
wood and water power -> support the industrial economy of the Lowlands. Its southern parts
to eastern Canadian are sometimes known as the “resources frontier.”
Because the treeless, Arctic section of the mainland Northwest Territories is very different
from the rest of the Shield, it is part of the North.
The swampy lowland west of James Bay and south of Hudson Bay is underlain by rocks of
Paleozoic age, i.e. not Precambrian, so it should be a separate region, but it’s little used and
virtually unoccupied – unfavorable physical environments – it’s included with the Shield.

The Interior Plains

Defined by landforms and geology: western boundary: Rocky Mountains; eastern boundary:
beneath former glacial-lake deposition or extensive coniferous forests. Two sub-regions by
transitional parkland vegetation zone: southern grasslands and northern forests (similar to the
forested Canadian Shield on the northeast).
Characteristics changed by settlement; now large rectangular grain farms, and interesting
regularity of towns and cities. Southern plains largest area of generally level land occupied
by Canadians – largest population living in an area of climate extremes. People and natural
environments are closely associated here. Plains – landforms. Prairies – vegetation.

The Cordillera of British Columbia

Distinct mountainous region. (Cordillera given to the mountain systems extending through
western North America, from Central America to Alaska) The plains are not part of it, but the
Interior Plains. Great contrasts in physical environment and population densities within small
areas. Similar to Atlantic and Gulf region and the Canadian Shield, its people are dependent
upon a resource-based economy. Activities dominated by the only large concentration of
people in the SW corner. Mountainous landforms of Yukon Territory are part of it – its main
population cluster in the S is linked to the Pacific Ocean, but it has small population and less
resource development, so it is discussed as part of the North region.

The North

The term north means different things to different people in Canada (most live in the southern
parts so almost everything is “the North”). It is specifically defined by political criteria as
Yukon Territory and the Northwest Territories, north of 60 degrees North latitude.
No landform or other environmental uniformity, like other large regions; it includes
mountains, hills and plains; some forested, others have tundra vegetation, some are bare rock.
It has both arctic and sub arctic climates; frozen ocean and straits environments not found
elsewhere in Canada.
Two large sub-regions: Northwest – forested in the valleys, sub arctic, has white population
and some resource potential – and the Arctic, which is treeless, with arctic climate and most
of the Inuit (Eskimo) population and little resource potential.

These six regions are not fixed or permanent, because of the sub-regions to be recombined in
various ways into sets of larger regions.

Source: Readings in Canadian Civilization I. edited by Judit Molnár, in 1991. pp.6-11

Canadian Multiculturalism

The word “culture” is used in many contexts. It comes from Greek-> French: “culturer” =
to cultivate the land, to work the soil. It originally meant vegetable culture, then culture of
letters (i.e. literature) and culture of sciences; then it get broader and broader meanings.
Now it’s similar to “civilization,” which is a refined kind of knowledge. Difference:
everybody has culture, but not everyone is civilized.
There exist many definitions of “culture.” Diana Kendell’s definition: Culture is the language,
values, knowledge, custom and material objects passed on from one generation to another.

In Canada, multiculturalism has always been there because of the Native Americans. (now
26 Aboriginal peoples with different languages) Multiculturalism includes gender, sexual
orientation and range of ages in Canada.

1st half of 20th century: - many repressive laws

- Japanese Canadians got interned (like in concentration
camps) and ended up on the Prairies. Joy Kogawa’s Obasan
tells a lot about internment.
Diversity became to be understood as an essential and internal part of Canada. “Unity
through diversity” was the motto in the 2nd part of the 20th century. Discrimination got banned
in the Bill of Rights in the 1960s (period of demonstrations).
1962: 1st Canada’s Immigration Act: people from any nation or religious group etc can be
CONSIDERED for immigration.
The Royal Commission on BLC (bilingualism and biculturalism) revealed that French were
underrepresented in the government, => Canada became officially bilingual in 1969 with the
Official Languages Act, accepted by Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau. He also wanted to assist
all Canadians to become bilingual and bicultural. He started to promote programs on how to
teach to become familiar with one’s own background =>personal identity formation courses.
Multiculturalism got official policy of Canada in 1971. (Trudeau started to assist all
minorities, not only French.) 1988: Canadian Multiculturalism Act.

Immigration after WWII: from Asia, the Middle-East, South-America, West Indies and the
Caribbean. The birthrate increased with 50% owing to the immigrants.
Marshall McLuhan foresaw it in the 1960’s and referred to Canada as a global village. His
books include: Medium is the Message (how media changes culture) and Understanding
Media. Huge number of immigrants (300000 average), highest number in Toronto, where
more than 100 languages are spoken. 1995: Employment Equity Act

Synonyms:
Before Multiculturalism: mosaic culture: different parts of the mosaic weren’t connected.
Interculturalism: cultures influence one another.
Polyculturalism, Transculturalism – In Canada you have to preserve your own culture.
Cross-culturalism: cultures are so far away that they can’t influence one another.

Multiculturalism became a commodity: tons of books and many courses on the theme.
Multiculturalism Act: government policy, the status of the society or only and idea or ideal.
Tolerance (now called acceptance-> it implies you like it) is very high. Many languages are
spoken and appear in media (e.g. A Hungarian TV program in Toronto)
There are restaurants and streets offering ethnic food: Bank Str. in Ottawa, Bloor Str. and
Prince Arthur Ave. in Toronto and Robson Str. in Vancouver.
Co-existence is a virtue of the nation; it’s the people’s responsibility how to live together with
other groups.

Differs from the US in this aspect. “E pluribus unum” referring to the melting pot concept
(from Israel Zanguill’s drama in 1901), people there become American.

Trudeau: every ethnic group has a right to preserve and develop his/her own culture, so not
one of these is more official than another. They accept language (except Québec, there only
the Québec French is accepted). The basic idea is to teach children of acceptance.
Multiculturalism Day in October exists since 2002, there’s also a Department of Citizenship,
Immigration and Multiculturalism, whose minister is Jason Kenney.
Not all immigrants agree with the Canadian concept of preserving and developing one’s own
culture. If somebody didn’t dance to folk music at home why should they do it in Canada?

Immigration from the US: because of better social services

Chinese:
Largest flux (>1300000) with the Gold Rush in 1850s, then they came for the building of the
railway for low pay. They got rude names, like chinks, monkeys and yellow bellies. After the
railway was completed in 1885, a lot of them went back to China or became vendors,
domestic hands or started to run a laundry service (lower level of society)
In 1920s they had to pay head tax, and from 1923-47: Chinese Exclusion Act: no Chinese was
allowed to enter Canada. They live in big cities now. Biggest Chinatown: in Toronto. After
WWII: many of them were educated; they are the hardest working students in Canada, esp.
Mandarins. Chinatowns have become overcrowded and squalid, but many Chinese moved out
from them. 1997: Hong Kong given back to China => immigration to Canada because of fear
of communism. (Agents helped illegal immigration for 40000 Canadian dollars)

Ukrainians:
1200000 people. Many went there in the 19 th century; these were farmers, who ended up in
the West, esp. in Alberta (hard circumstances). They were very religious (Greek Orthodox or
Ukrainian Greek) and church served as a cultural center for them. During the two WW’s they
went again as part of the army. After WWII more educated ones arrived and Alberta gained
more power, though Ukrainians are not a unified group. Now they live in large cities, esp. in
Edmonton, but also in Toronto. Part of arts and literature (e.g. Myrna Kostash). Center for
Ukrainian Studies at the University of Alberta. Own newspaper: Ukrainian Echo

Italians:
In big cities, often in Little Italies – distinct communities with distinct values. 1497: 1 st
explorer, an Italian in Canada. In manufactures, restaurants and fashion. During wars: enemy
aliens, discriminated, Little Italies vandalized. Petawawa in N-Ontario: interned Italians in
WWII. Now in all walks of life. Literary scene: Nino Ricci, Antonio D’Alfonso (Guernica),
F. G. Paci (Black Madonna, 1981; about proxy – prearranged marriage for immigration). Big
families, often 2-3 generations live in one house; largest number of owning their own house.

Religion:
47% Roman Catholic (French influence); 30000 Protestant, there are also Buddhist, Jewish,
Muslim or people who have no religion.

Agnostic:
They believe in God, but question certain aspects; they don’t reject, but don’t take sides.

Hutterite:
Catholic minority. Leader: Jacob Hutter, a religiously persecuted Swiss.Anabaptists (reject
infant baptism), pacifists (refuse to fight in wars). About 30000 people in Canada today. They
cherish communal property, share possession and emphasize love (in general). They give
furniture, clock and sewing machine for the newly weds traditionally. German teacher has the
greatest influence. Children go to school from the age of 3, discipline is important. Simple
clothing, no divorces. They mostly live in colonies. After university, many return to teach in
their colonies. One such colony: Fairview, near Calgary, only one where strangers are allowed
to enter. Own agriculture (on Prairies). Outside Canada: Hutterite colony only in Japan.

Mennonites:
From Menno Simons, a Dutch person speaking Frisian language. 200000 people, scattered all
though the country and in 40 other countries. Pacifists, Anabaptists. They live on
congregations, not strict. German Mennonite studies exist.