USA (Linguistic Culture), страница 3

When the uproar in America reached Britain, the British Parliament canceled all the duties except the tea tax, but most basic sources of discontent remained. The Americans felt angry upon the presence of unnecessary troops, the English courts and customs officers.

The East India Company, finding itself in critical financial state, appealed to the British government and was given a monopoly on all tea exported to North America. When three ships loaded with tea came into the port of Boston in December 16, 1773 American colonists refused to pay the tax and unload the tea. Instead at night a group of 60 men disguised as Indians boarded the ships and dumped the cargo of three hundred forty two chests into the water of the harbor. That event came into American history under the name “The Boston Tea Party”. British King and Parliament condemned the “Tea Party” as an act of vandalism and advocated legal measures to bring the colonists into line. Punitive measures were taken. The newly adopted British laws-called by the colonists “Coercive Acts’- closed the port of Boston until the cost of the lost tea was paid for. New British officials were appointed in American colonies, and many more British troops were stationed there.

But the resistance of the colonists continued to grow. In 1774 the First Continental Congress was held in Philadelphia. Delegates wrote to King George asking to reopen Boston Harbor. American lawyers Thomas Jefferson and James Wilson worked out the rights of Americans and their own legislation. King George did not answer the letter and sent more warships to America. American patriots called on Americans to take up arms to defend their rights. In April, 1775 the British regulars at Lexington and Concord (near Boston) were met by armed American volunteers (so-called militia). Their first skirmished proclaimed the beginning of American War for Independence.

The Second Continental Congress, which also convened in Philadelphia, authorized an American army and appointed a young Virginian planter George Washington as its commander-in-chief. On July 4, 1776, the Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence from the British rule. This famous document drafted by Thomas Jefferson maintained that all men were created equal and proclaimed their rights for life, liberty and pursuit of happiness. The Declaration of Independence was signed in so-called Independence Hall on the wall of which there is still the famous Liberty Bell, which told the people outside about the historical decisions.

The war for Independence lasted for six years and was hard to win. In Great Britain at that time there lived 9 million people, in the American colonies – less than 3 million, 20 percent of which were slaves. Britain had the world’s greatest navy and a strong army. The rag-tag groups of irregulars seemed no match for England’s military might. Americans had only an ill trained militia and no navy. Yet they had one great advantage – they were fighting at home and for freedom. The colonial militia’s successes around Boston in the spring 1775 contributed to the American myth that British regulars were less effective than the colonials’ volunteers. At the same time the British government and its generals made the fatal mistake of underestimating Washington’s army seriously. As the war progressed, discipline and experience appeared and though the colonists lost many battles, they learned that they could be beaten but they could not be subdued. Besides France seeking the revenge to Britain had secretly provided assistance to the rebellious colonies, dispensing goods and finances through a trading company headed by French author Pierre Caron de Beaumarchais.

After the decisive victory of the colonial army at Yorktown in 1781 the British finally laid down their arms. In 1783 the ultimate peace treaty was signed in Paris. Britain recognized American independence and agreed to withdraw all its troops from the American soil. An American flag was raised. The 13 states joined together into a confederation. The citizens of the new country began to call themselves “Americans” and a new nation was born. Congress also worked out a system of adding new states to the original ones.

One of the first tasks facing Americans was the creation of new political institutions to exercise the governmental authority seized from Great Britain. In 1787 a nation-wide meeting (named Convention) in Philadelphia adopted a new Constitution. It established a legislature of two Houses, the House of Representatives in which the places were assigned according to the population and filled by popular vote, and the Senate where every state was to send two members appointed by state. Centralized executive power was to be effected by Federal Government headed by a President with wide jurisdiction over home and foreign affairs. During January and February 1789 elections took place in the states and soon the new congressmen gathered in the temporary capital New York. George Washington was unanimously elected the first President of the United States of America.

In 1791 ten amendments were added to the Constitution, known as the “Bill of Rights”, according to which the Federal government guarantees freedom of speech, press, or religion. Yet it is necessary to note that the American Constitution, the first in the world to recognize the rights of white citizens, at the same time confirmed the black people’s slavery. The brutality of the slavery obviously conflicted with the proclaimed ideals of American democracy.

1. Answer the questions.

1. What was the main reason of British – French war?

2. What consequences had the victory of Britain on the relations between American colonies and their mother country?

1. What series of British actions led to the American war for independence?

2. What role did “The Boston Massacre” and the Boston “Tea Party” play in the revolutionary movement?

3. What was the main idea of the “Declaration of Independence” drafted by Thomas Jefferson?

4. How did the revolutionary events develop after the “Declaration of Independence” had been adopted?

5. Which great advantage did American militia have over British soldiers?

6. What were the very first steps of Philadelphia Convention after the decisive victory of the American colonial army?

7. When was the very first president of the USA elected?

2. Find English equivalent to the Russian ones:

Основные события; начало войны; одержать победу; подавить восстание; облагать налогами; приостановить деятельность законодательного органа; отменить пошлины; осуществить план; провести карательные меры; созвать конгресс; провести в жизнь закон; прекратить наступательные операции; предоставить безоговорочную независимость.

Render the texts in English: Разрыв колоний с метрополией был предопределен с самого начала, так как ориентация на автономность возникла очень быстро. Еще задолго до революции в Северной Америке сложилась особая духовная атмосфера, поражавшая прибывших за океан европейцев. После англо-французской войны англичане попытались установить более строгий режим в своих колониях. Это вызвало решительный протест американцев. Введение закона о Гербовом сборе вызвала к жизни новые формы демократического движения. В конце 1765-начале 1766 гг. возникла революционная организация «Сыновья свободы». Они организовали бойкот английских товаров, что привело к провалу закона о Гербовом сборе. Это был новый этап политической борьбы. В мае 1773 г. английский парламент принял так называемый «Чайный закон». Протест против Чайного закона вылился в инцидент, известный в истории страны как «Бостонское чаепитие. Первые вооруженные столкновения между английскими войсками и американскими силами произошли в Ленсингтоне и Конкорде. Три недели спустя после этих событий 10 мая 1775 г. в Филадельфии открылся Континентальный конгресс. На нем было принято решение о создании регулярной армии. Главнокомандующим был назначен молодой плантатор Джордж Вашингтон.

Историческая наука рассматривает Американскую революцию как революцию, в которой борьба за освобождение от колониальной зависимости переплелась с борьбой за экономические и политические преобразования. Американская революция оказалась тесно связанной с процессом формирования новой нации.

Исключительная личность в Американской истории. Джордж Вашингтон.

Среди героев Америки нет человека, равного Дж. Вашингтону(1732-99). Неутомимый и энергичный лидер, он казался главным даже среди той группы окружавших его людей, которых называют создателями и «отцами» США. Вашингтон стяжал бессмертие, сыграв в истории США три важных роли: он командовал Континентальной армией, которая в ходе революционной войны завоевала стране независимость от Великобритании; он был председателем Конвента, который в 1787 году выработал Конституцию США; он был избран первым президентом США и определил форму и стиль правления нового государства.

До 1775 г, когда Вашингтон был избран главнокомандующим Континентальной армией, он занимался главным образом управлением своего поместья в штате Вирджиния, членом ассамблеи – законодательного органа самоуправления в колонии. Еще ранее он был военным и во время войны с французами и индейскими племенами, командовал Вирджинскими силами, находясь в подчинении британскому командованию. Историк и биограф Джемс Флекснер в предисловии к своей книге «Вашингтон - исключительная личность» пишет, что когда он начал изучать жизнь Вашингтона, перед ним предстал «человек, которому, как и другим, свойственно было ошибаться, человек из плоти и крови, сильный духом, а вовсе не мраморная статуя. Во всей мировой истории немногие из обладающих такой властью так мудро и благоразумно пользовались ею на благо своих соотечественников.

Discussion problems:

1. The situation before the Revolution.

2. The significance of the American Revolution for the thirteen colonies that becаme Independent.

3. Historical personalities of the period.

LECTURE N 7

Formation of American Nation.

The Independence was extremely important for the formation of American state. The leaders of the new nation believed in their country’s uniqueness. The classical republican heritage of Greece and Rome provided a constant source of imitation. The names “President”, “Congress”, and “Senate” were derived from Latin roots. American writers, artists and architects revived neoclassical style. The capitol building in the newly - built republican center of Washington exemplified this style.

Establishment of a firm economic base was another aim of national development. Iron manufacture in Pennsylvania became the basis of the industrial economy. The shortage of labor caused development of mechanization of the operations and the growth of machine technology. The construction of the first railroads was begun.

Congress worked out a system of adding new states to the original 13 ones. It was decided that when the population of any area grew to 60 thousand this area could become a state Thus five new states were formed from North-west territory: Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan and Wisconsin. Thomas Jefferson became the third president of the United States in 1801 and began to look to the West of the continent to provide land for growing agrarian population. He foresaw the day when Americans would expand to the Pacific coast. In 1798 Spain granted Americans access to the Mississippi and to the port at New Orleans. In 1803 the president bought 828,000 square miles (2, 144, 000 square kilometers) of French land west of the Mississippi. This deal became known as the Louisiana Purchase, which included the present-day states of Louisiana, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Missouri, Iowa, Nebraska, and North and South Dakota.

T. Jefferson also asked the USA Congress to allocate appropriate funds for the expedition to the Northwest and exploration of the Missouri River and its tributaries. In 1804, he started exploration and mapping the territory to find a water route for boats from the Missouri River to the Pacific Ocean.

In spite of the War of 1812 which the USA fought on the side of France against Britain the American government continued to take steps to expand the territory available for white settlement on the northern frontier. In 1817 federal government had Indian tribes in Ohio sell their lands and migrate farther west. In the following years many Indian nations, recognizing the futility of resistance, signed over their territories and left. White settlers rushed westward, and five new western states joined the Union. The US government encouraged people to settle in the territory of Oregon, so that it could claim the land as part of the United States.

The annexation of Texas (the 28-th American state) in 1845 brought ranching into American life. Americans moved across Indiana and Illinois and into the plains as trappers, traders and adventurers, acquiring herds of horses and cattle. This began the range cattle industry in Kansas and Nebraska, which supplied beef and fresh horses to immigrants going west, and also fed mining camps and railroad crews.

Fleeing from political turmoil or economic distress at home over 4 million immigrants entered the United States from the 1840s to1880s.The first organized group of American settlers came to California in 1841.In 1848, after the end of the Mexican War; Mexico ceded California to its powerful neighbor. By mid-century the United States extended its power from the Atlantic to the Pacific, pushing aside all Indian nations and conquering its neighbors.

The discovery of gold in California in 1848 set off the famous “Gold Rush”. “Gold Rush” or “Gold Fever”, dramatically described by famous American writer Jack London, occupies a special place in the USA history. The influence of it both on the region and on the whole nation was enormous. After the news about the gold in California had spread, over 80,000 Americans as well as thousands of foreigners streamed to the West with hope to get rich. Some of the new arrivals traveled to the port of San Francisco. Others traveled overland, enduring a lot of hardships. In the following seven years the influx of newcomers continued and by 1856 the state already numbered 300,000.Almost all of them tried to make their fortunes by mining gold and thousands of miners lived in camps separated from their loved ones, alone in vast and hostile wilderness. Very many of such fortune-seekers died because of difficult conditions and illnesses. Law and order were constantly broken down there. Even if a miner “struck it rich” (had success) there were always those who tried to take the gold away: gamblers, outlaws, thieves, and saloon keepers.

Yet there were some who made fortune by selling goods to the miners. A German businessman Levi Strauss bought strong denim canvas and used it to make pants for the miners. Farmers raised foodstuff to sell to the miners and settlers on their way west. Most of the farmers there were Mormons, who built new towns and grew corn and fruit on large irrigated fields of Southern California where the latest harvesting technology was used. The gold rush helped to change California from a frontier area into a state. In 1850 California became the thirty-first American state.

The Civil War

While the nation was growing and developing, the situation with the Native Americans and black slaves was getting even more complex. The American Revolution gave great impetus to the movement to end slavery by granting freedom to those blacks who served in the armed forces. Following the American Revolution a number of states abolished slavery, and its opponents hoped that emancipation would gradually spread to other areas of the country. But although many northerners opposed slavery, most of them rejected immediate efforts to cancel it. Age-old prejudices against the Indians and blacks prevented the “white” Americans from considering them as their equals and very many Americans still believed that blacks were basically inferior to whites. Besides by the Constitution the issue about slavery was left in the hands of the State legislature and Federal Government had no right to abolish it. When Eli Whitney in 1793 invented the machine cleaning cotton of its seeds, the productivity of slave-labor in cotton-growing increased by 50 times and slavery came to be regarded as the mainstay economics in many Southern states. The increased importance of cotton for the South strengthened the hold of slavery in this region. In 1820 by the Missouri Compromise Act slavery was allowed south of 36 parallel but not north of it.