1、国家概况1. From “a Melting Pot” to “a Salad Bowl”Though the days of mass immigration are probably over, the influence of the movement will never be erased. Americans have adopted many of the customs and ideas of the immigrants as their own; each wave of immigration left its impact and distinctive contri
2、bution to the building of the nation and the evolution of American life. While at the same time each ethic group keeps its own religious and cultural institutions; teach their own language, customs as well and observe their own festivals. They have never been “melted” in the real sense but have kept
3、 the feature of “A Salad Bowl” which means many different elements are combined into a whole, meanwhile each ingredient retains its individual identity.2. The New DealThe Definition:Between 1933 and 1938, innovative measures were taken in the U.S. to deal with the Great Depression, to protect the Am
4、erican capital system and to save the US democracy. The economic and social policies of the Roosevelt Administration were collectively known as “the New Deal”. The Detailed Contents (Just for reference):One part of the program was to promote recovery from the depression. Another was to supply relief
5、 to the needy. A third part was to stabilize the national economy to prevent severe economic crisis in the future.The Significance:Only after the outbreak of World War II was the economic crisis totally solved for the war triggered the huge needs for industrial and agricultural productivity. However
6、, the New Deal helped to limit the impact of later recessions and the United States has experienced no return to the national nightmare of Great Depression since the New Deal. 3. The Welfare StateIn order to relieve poverty, cut unemployment, and speed economic recovery during the Great Depression,
7、Congress in 1935 enacted the Social Security Act, which contained three major programs: a retirement fund, unemployment insurance, and welfare grants for mothers, children, elders, and the disabled. Roosevelt declared that the day of great private fortunes was ended. Instead , wealth must be better
8、distributed. Every citizen must be guaranteed “a proper security, a reasonable leisure, and a decent living throughout life.” These programs began what is now referred to as a welfare state. 4. Separation of powersSeparation of powers means constitutional divisional of powers among the legislative,
9、executive, and judicial branches. In America, this means more than allocating legislative power to Congress, executive power to President and judicial power to the Super Court. It also means giving each branch constitutional and political in dependence and checks and balances that ensure each of the
10、 three branches a sufficient role in the actions of the others so that no one branch may dominate the others. The branches must work together if government business is to be performed.5. America Dream:The term means different thing to different people. It is usually associated with the aspiration of
11、 most people: peace, prosperity, personal ownership of property, personal liberty, and the belief that individuals are free to achieve any goals, to accumulate material wealth, to live any lifestyle, central to America dream is the notion that America is the land of opportunity for the enterprising.
12、 Any competitive, practical go-getter can make a fortune, or build a dream home. its focus is primarily self-centered, materialistic , pragmatic, and individualistic.6. Mayflower CompactIn 1620 a tiny ship called the “Mayflower“ sailed from England for the New World. About half of the members of the
13、 ship were Pilgrims who were the first group of Puritans to settle in North America. During the trip, they were far away Virginia and the Pilgrims decided to set up their own government. They wrote a now famous agreement called the “Mayflower Compact“. In this compact they agreed to stick together t
14、o abide by majority rule, and to have a right to choose their own leader. This was the beginning of the US democracy.7. The Tea ActIn 1773, in order to help the British East India Company out of its financial embarrassment, the Tea Act began. It relieved the company of the necessary of paying duties
15、 on its tea exported to America, which was believed as a monopoly by American colonists. They therefore decided to take action against the Act. On the evening of December, in Boston, a group of angry colonists, known as the Boston Tea Party, dressed themselves up as Indians and boarded the three com
16、pany ships and dumped all the tea into the harbor. The British Parliament took immediate action to punish the American colonists who were unified to resist the government. That finally triggered the outbreak of American Revolution.8. Monroe DoctrineAfter James Monroe was elected as the 5th US presid
17、ent in 1816, he bought Florida from Spain in 1819, peacefully resolved the problem of the admission of Missouri to the Union as a slave state. His popularity survived mainly for his foreign policy usually known as the Monroe Doctrine. The Doctrine, announced in 1823, included four points. First, the
18、 United States would not interfere in the affairs of the colonies still owned by European nations in the New World. Second, any effort on the part of European nations to extend their system to the portion of the Western Hemisphere would be regarded as dangerous to the peace and safety of the United
19、States. Third, European nations would not intervene in the affairs of independent nations of the New World. Fourth, American continents are henceforth not to be considered subjects for future colonization by any European powers. The essence of the Doctrine was “America for Americans“, which later be
20、came a cornerstone of the US foreign policy. As the New world developed in the years ahead this Doctrine became more meaningful and was strengthened by a broader interpretation to meet the needs of an energetic and ambitious United States.9. FederalismThe division of powers by a constitution between
21、 the central government and state government is called federalism. According to the US Constitution, neither the central nor the state government receives its powers from the other. Both derive them from a common source, the Constitution. The national government has only those powers delegated to it
22、 by the Constitution. The states have the powers not delegated to the central government except those denied to them by the Constitution and the constitutions of their states. It should be observed that federalism operates only on two levels. Unites of government within a state enjoy no independent
23、existence.10. Roaring TwentiesFor nearly 10 years after the First World War the United States enjoyed prosperous times marked by high wages and increased production and consumption of goods, which was known as “Roaring Twenties” or the “Jazz Age”. That was a time of carefree prosperity, isolation fr
24、om the worlds problems, bewildering social change and a feverish pursuit of pleasure. It gave women the rightto vote. Also, it was a time of rapid urbanization. Many of the young began casting off the personal and social restraints of the past for freedom of thought, religion, and sexual relation, w
25、hich resulted in the rise of American “Lost Generation” and the tone of materialism of the era. 11. Gettysburg addressGettysburg Address is a speech by Lincoln on Nov.19, 1863 after the northern victory at Gettysburg. The speech was considered unimportant at the time, but has come to be viewed by th
26、e Americans as one of the most significant expressions of American democracy. In his speech Lincoln stated that the aim of civil war was to make possible “a new birth of freedomthat government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.”12、 The Cold WarAfter World
27、War II, the hope that a new and better world would emerge was soon broken by the conflict of the two superpowers: the USSR and the US. In the post war period the difference between the two powers increased and later led to a new kind of war, a war without fighting which was called the Cold War. In g
28、eneral, the Cold War was marked by international tension and hostility arising from various military, diplomatic, social, propagandistic and economic pressures employed by one side against the other to gain advantage economically in terms of security, or in terms of opinion. During the Cold War, the
29、re were two hot issues: the Korean War and the Vietnam War from 1959 to 1975 and two policies: the Truman Doctrine and Marshall Plan. Also, in 1949, President Truman helped to create a military alliance: the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, known as NATO. In retaliation, the Soviet Union formed the Warsaw Pact. The symbol of the Cold War was the Berlin Wall, a barricade begun in 1961. And the Cold War was ended with the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, which was symbolized by the destruction of the Berlin Wall on Nov. 9, 1989.
