Unit 2 History and Symbols

American history covers the development, struggle and experience of the United States from the history of early exploration through modern times,including European settlement, revolutionary war, civil war, great depression, two world wars and modern era improvement. Americans are a brave and free-spirited people who originally came from all over the world and formed much longstanding coexistence and melting of many different cultures, races and religions. A lot of American historical figures have played important roles in the development and improvement of the American history, such as George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King and Bill Gates, etc.

Historical Periods

European settlement began shortly after the first voyage of Columbus in 1492 and large(-?)scale European colonization of the Americas started. Native people and European colonizers came into widespread conflict, and early European immigrants1 were often part of state-sponsored who attempted to found colonies in the Americas. Migration continued as people moved to the Americas fleeing religious persecution2 or seeking economic opportunities. Millions of individuals were founded forcibly transported to the Americas as slaves, prisoners or servants. European colonists reached the Gulf and Pacific coasts, but the largest settlements were founded by the English on the East Coast, starting in 1607,while in 1620 the Mayflower transported Pilgrims to the New World. With the 1732 colonization, the 13 British colonies which would become the United States of America were established. By the 1770s, the 13 colonies contained 2.5 million people. With high birth rates, low death rates and steady immigration, the colonial population grew rapidly.

The American Revolutionary War was led by tensions between American colonials3 and the British during the revolutionary period of the 1760s and early 1770s and lasted from 1775 to 1781. Officially the United States began as an independent nation with the Declaration of Independence, drafted primarily by Thomas Jefferson on July 4,1776. That date is now celebrated annually as the Independence Day of the United States.

The Constitution became the basis for the United States federal government in 1789, with war hero George Washington as the first president. The young nation continued to struggle with the scope of central government and with European influence, creating the first political parties in the 1790s, and fighting a second war for independence in 1812.

The 1860 election of Abraham Lincoln, who called for no more expansion of slavery,triggered a crisis as 11 slave states seceded to found the Confederate States of America in 1861.The American Civil War from 1861 to 1865 redefined the nation and remained the central iconic event. The South was defeated and, in the Reconstruction era, the United States ended slavery.Slavery of Africans was abolished in the North, but the large quantity of demand for cotton in the world made slavery flourish in the Southern States.

After the war, the assassination of Abraham Lincoln radicalized Republican Reconstruction policies which aimed at reintegrating and rebuilding the Southern States while ensuring the rights of the newly freed slaves. The territory of the United States expanded westward across the continent, brushing aside Native Americans and Mexico, and overcoming modernizers who wanted to deepen the economy rather than expand the geography. In the North, urbanization and an influx of immigrants from Southern and Eastern Europe hastened4 the country’s industrialization. The wave of immigration, lasting until 1929, provided labor and transformed American culture.

World War I broke out in 1914, and the United States remained neutral. Most Americans sympathized5 with the British and the French although many opposed intervention. The United States declared war on Germany in 1917, and funded the Allied victory. After a prosperous decade in the 1920s, the Wall Street Crash of 1929 marked the onset of the decade-long and world-wide Great Depression. After the election as President in 1932, Franklin D. Roosevelt responded with the New Deal, a range of policies for relief, recovery, and reform, increasing government intervention in economy, including the establishment of the Social Security System.

After the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941, the United States was prompted to enter World War II alongside the Allies and helped defeat Nazi Germany in Europe.The United States, having developed the first newly-invented nuclear6 weapons, used them on the two Japanese cities. Japan surrendered on September 2, 1945, which ended the war.

Contemporary era of the United States plays an important role on the stage of the world.The Cold War ended in 1991, leaving the United States to prosper in the booming Information Age. Under President George Bush, the United States took a lead role in the United Nations. The longest economic expansion in modern the United States, history from 1991 to 2001 encompassed the Bill Clinton administration. After the 2000 presidential election, George W. Bush became president.

International conflict and economic uncertainty heightened in 2001 with the September 11 attacks and subsequent7 wars on terror and the late-2000s recession. On September 11, 2001, the terrorists struck the World Trade Center in New York City and the Pentagon near Washington D.C., killing over 3,000 people. In response, the Bush administration launched a global War on Terror. In 2008, amid a global economic recession, the first African American president, Barack Obama was elected. Major health care and financial system reforms were enacted two years later.

Donald Trump was inaugurated as the 45th President of the United States on January 20,2017. Trump, the Republican nominee, was a businessman and reality television personality from New York City at the time of his victory in the 2016 presidential election over the Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, to whom he lost the popular vote by 3 million votes while winning the electoral college.

Historical Figures

George Washington (1732—1799) is often called the "Father of His Country". He was the military and political leader of the United States between 1775 and 1797. He led the American victory over Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander in chief of the Continental Army. He also presided over the writing of the Constitution. He was unanimously elected as the first President of the United States. He built a strong, well-financed national government.He, along with Abraham Lincoln, had also become an icon of republican values, self sacrifice, American nationalism, and the ideal union of civic and military leadership.

John Davison Rockefeller (1839—1937) was an American oil industry business magnate, industrialist and philanthropist. He is widely considered the wealthiest American of all time, and the richest person in modern history. Business was a big part of Rockefeller’s life.But as big as that was, philanthropy was still as important to him if not more important. From the start, he gave 10% of his paycheck to the church. Later in his life he gave 80 million dollars to the University of Chicago. After he gave possibly his biggest donation of 250 million dollars to his own foundation, the Rockefeller Foundation,in total, it is said that he had given away over 550 million dollars in his life. He was also the founder of both the University of Chicago and Rockefeller University and funded the establishment of Central Philippine University in the Philippines.

Elvis Aaron Presley (1935—1977) was an American singer,musician and actor. Regarded as one of the most significant cultural icons of the 20th century, he is often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or simply "the King".

"Heartbreak Hotel" was released in January 1956 and became the number one hit in the United States. With a series of successful network television appearances and chart-topping records, he became the leading figure of the newly popular sound of rock and roll. Elvis Presley died at the age of 42 at his mansion in Graceland, near Memphis, shocking his fans worldwide. By the time of his death, he had sold more than 600 million singles and albums. Since his death, Graceland has become a shrine for millions of followers worldwide. Elvis Presley is the only performer to have been inducted into three separate music Halls of Fame. Throughout his career, he set records for concert attendance,television ratings and recordings sales, and remains one of the best-selling and most influential artists in the history of popular music.

National Symbols

The national floral emblem of the United Stated is rose. The national bird is American Eagle.The national flag of the United States is the Stars and Stripes. The 50 stars represent 50 states and the 13 stripes represent 13 original colonies. The red color on the flag represents courage and the white color represents freedom. The blue color on the flag represents loyalty and justice.

The Great Seal of the United Sates is the eagle with 13 arrows and olive branch. 13 arrows in the right talon and olive branch in the left talon symbolize that the United States has "a strong desire for peace, but will always be ready for war".

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.

Vocabulary:

1. immigrant　[ˈɪmɪgrənt]　n.　移民

2. persecution　[ˌpɜ:sɪ'kju:ʃn]　n.　迫害

3. colonial　[kəˈləʊniəl]　n.　殖民地居民

4. hasten　[ˈheɪsn]　v.　加速

5. sympathize　[ˈsɪmpəqaɪz]　v.　同情

6. nuclear　[ˈnju:kliə(r)]　adj.　原子核的

7. subsequent　[ˈsʌbsɪkwənt]　adj.　后来的

Exercises

I. Try to answer the following questions according to your understanding of the text.

1. When did European settlement begin?

2. When and where did European colonists reach the New World?

3. How much do you know about the Independence Day and its origin?

4. When was Donald Trump inaugurated as the President of the United States?

5. What is Elvis Aaron Presley famous for?

II. Read the following passage carefully, and make a comment on it at the end of the passage in no more than 100 words.

Columbus and a crew of 88 men left Spain on August 3, 1492, in three ships. On October 12,they stood on land again on an island that Columbus named San Salvador.

He explored it, and the nearby islands of what is now known as Cuba and Hispaniola. He believed they were part of the coast of East Asia, which was called the Indies. He called the people he found there Indians.

Columbus left about 40 men on the island to build a fort from the wood of one of the ships.He returned to Spain with captured natives, birds, plants and gold. Columbus was considered a national hero when he reached Spain in March, 1493.

Columbus returned across the Atlantic Ocean to the Caribbean area five months later. This time, he had many more men and all the animals and equipments needed to start a colony on Hispaniola. He found that the protective fort built by his men had been destroyed by fire.Columbus did not find any of his men.

Seven months later, Columbus sent five ships back to Spain. They carried Indians to be sold as slaves. Columbus also sailed back to Spain leaving behind some settlers who were not happy with conditions. Christopher Columbus made another trip in 1498, with six ships. This time he saw the coast of South America. The settlers were so unhappy with conditions in the new colony,Columbus was sent back to Spain as a prisoner. Spain’s rulers pardoned him.

In 1502, Columbus made his final voyage to what some was called the New World. He stayed on the Island of Jamaica until he returned home in 1504.

During all his trips, Columbus explored islands and waterways, searching for a passage to the Indies. He never found it. He also did not find spices or great amounts of gold. Yet, he always believed that he had found the Indies. He refused to recognize that it was really a new world.

Columbus’ voyages, however, opened up the new world. Others later explored all of North America.

Comments:

Some argue that since China has made great achievements in ancient times, Chinese people are likely to lead the world again. Others argue that there is no certain relationship between China’s grand history and its future.

What is your point of view?

Reference:

Argument:

1. Reaching the historical peak in the Tang Dynasty

2. Predicting the future by finding evidence in the course of history

Counter-argument:

1. Belonging to the developing country

2. Having a gap in science and technology

Keys to Exercises

I. Try to answer the following questions according to your understanding of the text.

1. European settlement began shortly after the first voyage of Columbus in 1492.

2. European colonists reached the Gulf and Pacific coasts, but the largest settlements were by the English on the East Coast, starting in 1607, while in 1620 the Mayflower transported Pilgrims to the New World.

3. July 4 is the Independence Day. The United States began as an independent nation with the Declaration of Independence, drafted primarily by Thomas Jefferson on July 4, 1776.

4. Donald Trump was inaugurated as the 45th President of the United States on January 20,2017.

5. Elvis Aaron Presley was an American singer, musician and actor. He was regarded as one of the most significant cultural icons of the 20th century. He is often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or "the King".

II. Read the following passage carefully, and make a comment on it at the end of the passage in no more than 100 words.

Open-ended.