Тема 6. Географическое положение США. Состав и величина территории. Природные условия. Формирование американской нации. Этнический и классовый состав населения. Фронтир и миф о саде. «Плавильный котел». Американский индивидуализм. Открытие и заселение, первые исследователи и поселенцы. Испанские, французские, британские поселенцы и коренное население материка. Войны с индейцами. Колониальная Америка.

Тема 7. Англо-американские отношения. Семилетняя война (1756 – 1763 гг.). Юг и распространение рабства. Пуританизм, эпоха просвещения. Война за Независимость (1775 – 1773 гг.). Образование Соединенных Штатов. Важнейшие сражения войны за Независимость. Декларация независимости. Великие преобразования (1812 – 1850 гг.). Орегонская тропа. Золотая лихорадка. Экспансионизм. Движение за отмену рабства на Юге. Гражданская война (1861 – 1865 гг.), ее экономические и политические итоги. Депрессия в США. США во второй половине XIX в., факторы, способствовавшие росту хозяйства. Специфические черты и этапы развития США на рубеже веков. ХХ в. Роль США в первой мировой войне. Общество потребления. Мировой экономический кризис. Вторая мировая война. Доктрина Монро. «Холодная» война. Вьетнам. Уотергейтский кризис. Конец ХХ в.

Тема 8. Политические партии. Избирательное право. Избирательная система. Экономическое положение и общая характеристика хозяйства США. Промышленность. Особенности промышленного производства. Структура промышленности. Сельское хозяйство, его структура и особенности. Транспорт. Экономические районы и города США. Внешнеэкономические связи. Финансы и капиталовложения. Распределение богатства страны. Бизнес и этика.

Тема 9. Конституция США, поправки. Билль о правах. Законодательная, исполнительная и юридическая власть. Американские законы об оружии. Смертная казнь в США. Американская религия. Мормонизм. Ислам в США.

Тема 10. Начальное образование и типы его организации. Среднее образование. Высшее образование. Старейшие университеты. Особенности организации обучения. Литература США, ее формирование и развитие. Изобразительное искусство и архитектура. Крупнейшие живописцы колониального периода. Создание американской национальной живописной школы. Архитектурные памятники и сооружения, отражающие различные периоды американской архитектуры. Музыкальная жизнь. Театр. Истоки создания народного американского искусства. Средства массовой информации. Кино, печать, радио и телевидение. Традиции и обычаи. Национальные, религиозные праздники.

American Emblems and Symbols

The American flag has 13 stripes and 50 stars, one for each state. The stripes are horizontal (7 red and 6 white) and stars are white on the blue background. The red stripes proclaim courage, the white stripes proclaim liberty, the field of blue stands for loyalty. Its history has become so overcrowded with traditions and legends that it’s hard to establish the true facts.

The US flag has several names; “The Old Glory”, the “Stars and Stripes” or the “Star-spangled Banner”. The latter name comes from the title of the national anthem of the USA, beginning with “Oh, say can you see by the dawn’s early light… the star-spangled banner…” The words were written by Francis Scott Kay, who watched the bombardment of Fort McHenry in September 1814 (during the English-American war of 1812-1815). The melody was taken from an English song composed by John Stafford Smith.

There are many rules for the flag, for example, you should display it only during the day, and you should fold it in a special way. In some schools there is a flag in each classroom, and children stand in front of the flag every day and say the “Pledge of Allegiance”:

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America

And to the Republic for which it stands

One Nation, under God, indivisible,

With Liberty and Justice for all.

The early version of the Pledge was published for the first time on September 8, 1892 in a Boston-based youth magazine The Youth’s Companion to commemorate the 400^th anniversary of Columbus’ discovery of America. Since then the wording has changed more than once. The last change occurred on June 14, 1954, when President Dwight D. Eisenhower approved adding the words “under God.”

For the first time in its unified form the US flag was raised on January 2, 1776, in Cambridge, Massachusetts. It consisted of 13 alternate red and white straps (stripes), equal to the number of states. The original states were Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, and Virginia. For that flag, on June 14, 1777, “Flag Day”, Congress substituted a similarly striped flag with 13 white stars on a blue field in the left-hand corner.

In 1794, with the admission of Vermont and Kentucky, Congress added 2 more stripes and 2 more stars. Then the new states joined the union but there was no place on the flag. So, in 1818 the original 13 stripes were restored, to remain unchanged thereafter; for each new state admitted to the Union, however, a new star was to be added.

One of the most famous symbols of the USA is the Statue of Liberty. It was given to the USA in 1884 by France as a symbol of friendship and freedom. You can see it in the New York harbor.

The coat of arms is an eagle with wings outspread, holding a bundle of rods – the symbol of administering – in the left claw and an olive twig – the emblem of love – in the right claw. The motto on the coat of arms is “E Pluribus Unum”. It became the symbol in 1782 The Founding Fathers wanted to choose an animal that was unique to the United States. For six years, the members of Congress engaged in a dispute over what the national emblem should be. As a result of the debate, the bald eagle was chosen because it symbolized strength, courage, freedom, and immortality and that it would look much better as our national symbol.

The motto of the country is “In God we trust”, adopted on July 30, 1956.

The national anthem is “The Star-Spangled Banner”, adopted on March 3, 1931.

One more symbol is the Liberty bell. Cast in London, England in 1752, the Liberty Bell rang when the Continental Congress signed the Declaration of Independence and has become the symbol of freedom in the United States. The bell weighs about 2000 pounds and is made mostly of copper (70%) and tin (25%).

Made for the Pennsylvania State House (now Independence Hall), the Liberty Bell was ordered by the Pennsylvania Assembly in 1751 to commemorate the 50-year anniversary of William Penn's 1701 Charter of Privileges. Shortly after its arrival in Philadelphia the Bell cracked. Local craftsmen recast the bell using the metal from the old bell, but this one also proved defective. A third was cast by John Pass and John Stowe. Their names appear on the bell, along with the city and date, along with this inscription:

"Proclaim liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof - Lev. XXV, v. x. By order of the Assembly of the Province of Pensylvania [sic] for the State House in Philada.

On June 7, 1753, the bell was hung in the tower of Independence Hall; however, during the American Revolution, in 1777, British troops captured Philadelphia. For safekeeping, the bell was moved to Zion's Reformed Church in Allentown, Pennsylvania. It was returned to Philadelphia in 1778.

As tradition, the bell was rung on every July 4th and on every state occasion until 1846. Not everyone agrees on when the first crack appeared on the Liberty Bell, but by 1846 a thin crack began to affect the sound of the bell. It was repaired so the bell could be tolled for Washington's birthday on February 23, 1846. In order to repair the bell, a slot was carved along the length of the crack that prevented the two sides of the bell from vibrating against each other. Two rivets were inserted in this slot to control the vibration of the two sides and restored the bell's tonal quality.

Today, the Liberty Bell hangs in Philadelphia at the Liberty Bell Pavilion on Market Street for all to see and is still gently rung each July 4th.

A cartoon symbol of the U.S. government is “Uncle Sam”. During the War of 1812 against England a man named Samuel Wilson sold meat to the U.S government for its soldiers. Everyone called him Uncle Sam. The first letters of Uncle Sam, “U.S.”, were the same as letters of the United States. After the war, cartoon of Uncle Sam as the U.S. government first began to appear.

The flower emblem of America is rose, adopted on October 7, 1986. In October 1985, the Senate passed a resolution that declared the rose as the National Floral Emblem of the United States. Senate Joint Resolution 159 was passed by the House of Representatives on September 23, 1986.

The resolution asked the president to issue a proclamation declaring the rose as the national flower. A proclamation announces an act by the government and does not have the effect of law.

President Reagan signed the resolution on October 7, 1986 in a ceremony in the White House Rose Garden. On November 20, 1986, President Reagan issued Proclamation 5574: The National Floral Emblem of the United States of America: The Rose.

The symbol of the US government is the great seal of the United States. On July 4, 1776, Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, and Thomas Jefferson were given the task of creating a seal for the United States of America. The delegates of the Constitutional Convention believed an emblem and national coat of arms would be evidence of an independent nation and a free people with high aspirations and grand hopes for the future.

The Great Seal was finalized and approved six years later on June 20, 1782. The seal reflects the beliefs and values that the Founding Fathers wanted to pass on to their descendents.

In the center of the seal is a bald eagle, our national bird. It holds in its beak a scroll inscribed E pluribus unum, which is Latin meaning "out of many, one" and stands for one nation that was created from 13 colonies. In one claw is an olive branch, while the other holds a bundle of thirteen arrows. The olive branch and arrows "denote the power of peace and war."

A shield with thirteen red and white stripes covers the eagle's breast. The shield is supported solely by the American eagle to denote that Americans should rely on their own virtue. The red and white stripes of the shield represent the states united under and supporting the blue, representing the President and Congress. The color white signifies purity and innocence; red, hardiness and valor; and blue signifies vigilance, perseverance, and justice. Above the eagle's head is a cloud surrounding a blue field containing thirteen stars, which forms a constellation. The constellation denotes that a new State is taking its place among other nations.

The seal's reverse side is sometimes referred to as the spiritual side. It contains a 13-step pyramid with the year 1776 in Roman numerals at the base. At the top of the pyramid is the Eye of Providence and above is the motto Annuit Coeptis, meaning "It [the Eye of Providence] is favorable to our undertakings" or "He favors our undertakings." Below the pyramid, a scroll reads, Novus Ordo Seclorum, meaning "New Order of the Ages." It refers to 1776 as the beginning of the American new era.

The Great Seal can be seen on the back of a one-dollar bill. The Secretary of State is the official custodian of the seal. It is only attached (affixed) to certain documents, such as foreign treaties and presidential proclamations. The Great Seal is displayed in the Exhibit Hall of the Department of State, in Washington, DC.

In the Black Hills of South Dakota, stands the national memorial, Mount Rushmore, created by Gutzon Borglum. It was designed as a testament to the growth of the country and its great leaders. This magnificent rock carving depicts the 60-foot high (18.3 m) faces of four great U.S. Presidents. They are: George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln.

Borglum started drilling into the 6,200-foot mountain in 1927; however, he died in 1941 before it could be completed. The head of Washington was completed first, followed by Jefferson and Lincoln. Roosevelt's head was unfinished when Borglum died. The memorial was finished later that year by his son, Lincoln. Borglum's original design was a sculpture of the four presidents to their waists, but time and money only provided for their heads. A similar memorial honoring Crazy Horse, the Oglala Sioux chief, is currently under development nearby.