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across the ocean to unoccupied lands of America and establish some English settlements there. In 1585, a group of settlers landed on North Carolina’s Roanoke Island. The land was called Virginia in honor of Queen Elizabeth I who was not married, and “Virgin” is Latin for “maiden”.

In 1606, King James I of England gave a joint-stock company (the Virginia Company) a charter for settlement in the New World, and in spring, 1607, a fort called Jamestown was built in Virginia. The colony was governed by a president and a council. John Smith was one of the councils. John Smith turned out to be the right man to govern the settlers. Without the good sense, boldness, and restless energy of their leader, the people of the half-starved colony would have lost their courage. The Indians would not sell food to the English., they would like to drive them from their country. But Smith, a very shrewd man, showed the Indians little mirrors, shiny blue beads and other trifles which enchanted the Indians, and they changed them for an enormous amount of corn. Had it not been for Smith, Jamestown would have been a failure. That is why he is often called the Hero and the Father of Virginia. Smith is also remembered as a man who explored the Atlantic coast of America and made a detailed map of the region he called New England.

John Rolf was another savior of the Virginia colony. He started the tobacco industry there, and tobacco rush began in Jamestown. Planted even in the streets of the town, tobacco set the basis of Virginia’s prosperity. It demanded new hands to cultivate it, so in 1619, the first black Africans were brought to Virginia as slaves. However King James of England grew increasingly hostile to Virginia. He detested tobacco. But the main reason for his resentment was the fact that the settlers were given the right to vote and elect their own governor . In fact it was the beginning of self-government in the future United States. King decided to make Virginia a royal colony directly controlled by the Crown.

Questions

1. Who was the first to reach North American continent? 2.Why Columbus’s discovery is “History’s most glorious mistake”? 3. What did Columbus call people he found in the New World? 4. Why were Columbus’s expeditions considered to be a failure? 5. How did America got its name? 6. How does US capital honor Columbus? 7. Were Spanish the first to organize a celebration of the discovery of America? 8. What US

President proclaimed October 12 “Columbus Day”? 9. When is the holiday officially celebrated? 10. What impact has Columbus’ discovery on the Old and New Worlds?

11. What happened after gold had been found in the New World? 12. How did the Indians learn to hate the Spanish? 13. Which lands in South or North America are Spain’s possessions today? 14. What land did John Cabot reach and what country did

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he claim the land for? 15. Did the English get interested in the land discovered? 16. Who made money on slave trade? 17. Why did Britain need new lands? 18. What happened in 1585? 19. How and when was Jamestown built? How was it governed? 20. John Smith was the right man to govern the colonists, wasn’t he? 21. When were the first African slaves brought to America? 22. What caused King James ’s resentment?

Consider the Issue

Columbus’s discovery began a clash of cultures that proved disastrous for the aboriginal peoples of the Americas. European colonization was not an unalloyed triumph. While Columbus is often venerated in our history books, why is he is no hero to most tribal peoples?

IN SEARCH OF FREEDOM: THE PILGRIMS

In Virginia, the first Southern colony, the colonists took firm roots. Now, some have argued the first established colonies were Roanoke and Jamestown. But it is not these colonies that determined the history of American democracy. Both settlements lacked the key ingredient necessary for the successful colonization of America: religious fanaticism. Plymouth succeeded because its inhabitants did not come to the New World searching for glory, gold, adventure, or hot man-on-Indian action. Rather, the Pilgrims- as they are usually known -had come to escape religious persecution, to create a society where they could worship as they pleased and one day, God willing, even do some persecuting of their own.

So… 1620 In sixteen hundred and two zero

The Pilgrims landed dressed real queero

In November, 1620, a ship named the Mayflower brought 102 English men, woman and children who had survived the voyage, to the rocky coast of what is now Massachusetts. The ship’s passengers were Puritans- members of a Protestant religious sect which was unpopular in Britain because its members wanted to reform the Church of England and establish simpler rituals and structures. A group of Puritans had moved from England to Holland, where people were free to go to any church they liked. These emigrants became known as the Pilgrims, which means strangers, or wanderers. Having spent 12 years in Holland, they decided to leave for the New Land where they could practice their religion without interference.

The Pilgrim Fathers called the colony they found Plymouth and established government by majority will. The winter was cold, and nearly half the colonists died of exposure and disease. In the spring, with advice and help from Indians, with whom

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they lived in peace, the Pilgrims planted corn (known also as maize). By the next fall, the Pilgrims had a plentiful crop of corn and a growing trade based on furs and lumber. In October 1621, to celebrate the plentiful harvest, they held a feast where they invited the local Indians. The Indians brought deer to roast with wild turkey. The Indians had taught the colonists how to cook cranberries, different types of corn and squash dishes. To this first Thanksgiving, the Indians even brought popcorn.

Today on Thanksgiving Day – fourth Tuesday of Novemberfamilies gather for a reunion which offers a chance to strengthen blood ties. While many are hosted in private homes - usually at the house of an older relative, others are held in parks, resorts, churches, sometimes in a restaurant, for a traditional Thanksgiving dinner- the big meal of the day –with turkey and the most important side dish –bread stuffing, which is called dressing. The other sides are mashed potatoes, giblet gravy, green bean casserole, corn (blanched and frozen the summer before) and an old cranberry concoction of mashed cranberries, orange rind, walnuts and jello. This almost always includes some of the foods served at the first Thanksgiving plus sweet potatoes and pumpkin or pecan pie (or both). Before the feast, families usually pause to give thanks for all their blessings - including the joy of being together on this day, since

Thanksgiving is an intimate family affair. It’s not just about good food and good family and being thankful for both. One should not take good food and good family for granted, one should appreciate such blessings. Many things change and pass on. But, Thanksgiving is still the holiday for which many are always most homesick when afar from home and family. And many families like to share the day with others, inviting to their dinner foreign students, military people stationed far from home, and people who have no families. Watching football games - in person or on TV - is also very popular. The day is one on which Americans also show increased concern for the poor. Charitable organizations and churches provide food or serve dinners for the needy.

THE PROTESTANT HERITAGE

God helps those that help themselves

Benjamin Franklin

Thanksgiving Day has a special significance for many Americans because it is traced back to that group of people who were among the first to come to the New World in search of freedom. The belief in the freedom of the individual is probably the most basic and most strongly held of all American beliefs and values. The word “freedom” is one of the most respected words in the U.S.A. today. It means the desire and the ability of all individuals to control their own destiny without outside interference from the

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government, a ruling noble class, church, or any other organized authority. The price to be paid for this individual freedom is selfreliance: the Americans’ belief that they should take care of themselves, solve their own problems, and “stand on their own two feet.” These ideas and beliefs were brought to America and firmly established by European Protestants. The Protestant heritage has been a powerful force in shaping the values and beliefs of Americans. One of the most important values associated with Protestant heritage of America is the value of self-improvement. Acts of wickedness can not be forgiven; Protestantism encourages a strong and restless desire for selfimprovement through hard work, self-discipline and helping others. Individuals, in other words, make themselves into better persons by contributing some of their time or money to charitable, educational, or religious foundations and causes which are designed to help others. This philosophy is sometimes called “humanitarianism.” John D. Rockefeller, a famous American businessman, once when explaining why he gave a large sum from his private fortune to establish a university, said: “The good Lord gave me my money, so, how could I withhold it from the University of Chicago?” So, many Americans do the same in order to be acceptable in the Eyes of God and in the eyes of other Americans. Volunteering is done free of charge for the community. Americans serve on different committees, clean parks, lakes, etc. It goes from the philosophy of humanitarianism and empathy. There are thousands of voluntary organizations, foundations throughout the USA. Each year 80 million adults give nearly 20 billion hours of service in both formal and non-formal volunteering.

A NATIONAL RELIGION

Long may our land be bright with freedom’s holy light; From every mountain side, let’s freedom ring!

Protect us by Thy might, Great God our King!

Land where my fathers died, land of the Pilgrims’ pride!

From the song “America” by Samuel Francis Smith

There are two main branches of the Christian faith in the USA. – Roman Catholic and Protestant. The latter has many different branches - denominations. They have completely separate organizations, there are significant differences in their teachings and beliefs. Perhaps, the major cause of this religious diversity is the Protestant belief that the individual, not the organized church, should be the center of religious life. The desire for religious freedom was one of the strongest reasons why so many colonial settlers came to America. Generally speaking, the lack of any established national religion appealed strongly to European Protestants. American Protestants made certain that no organized national church would exist in their country. Although many Prote-

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stant denominations exist in the USA today, all of them share a common Protestant heritage. Americans, however, have developed a number of informal practices which combine national patriotism with religion. These practices are referred to as the

“national religion” of the USA. The main function of this national religion is to prove support for the dominant values of the nation. It does it in an informal, less organized way mixing patriotism with religious ideas in songs and in ceremonies to proclaim

God’s blessing on America and its basic values. It may be observed on national holidays, at large political and religious gatherings, especially, at sport events. Patriotic songs such as “God Bless America,” “America the Beautiful,” “My Country ‘Tis of Thee” are as well known to most of Americans as is their national anthem “The Star-

Spangled Banner.” These songs are sung frequently on public occasions. Such songs express the idea that the United States and its basic values have received God’s special blessing.

Sometimes, though, these practices can help create a climate in which disagreement with current national practices is discouraged or not tolerated. In the 1950’, persons who disagreed with government policies were accused of being “an American,” which meant unpatriotic or disloyal. Many were investigated and Americans’ freedom of speech was endangered. In the 1960s, young people who protested against the war in Vietnam, were considered to be un-American by some.

“America – love it or leave it” was an expression of this excessive patriotism. To an extend, the “national religion” can have a harmful effect. However, it usually serves a different function: to express the belief of most Americans that it is important to be a nation of people who believe in God and are loved and protected by God. The Coat of Arms of the USA shows a bald eagle with a ribbon in its mouth bearing the device: “E plurubus unum” (one of the two US mottos, the other being “In God We Trust”), 13 arrows and an olive branch in its talons.

The earliest Protestant settlers believed that by coming to America they were carrying out God’s plan. That belief gave them confidence that they would succeed. Modern

Americans still need to believe that their nation will continue to succeed. The national religion helps to answer the need by reminding them of their religious heritage to maintain their national self-confidence.

Questions for Discussion

1. Who were Puritans? Why did they become known as the Pilgrims? 2. What made them start for America? 3. Where did they settle down? 3. How did they name their settlement? 4. Why did the half of the colonists die? 4. The colonists would have survived but for the Indians, wouldn’t they? 5. What is Thanksgiving? 6. Why does

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Thanksgiving have a special significance for Americans? 7. How did Plymouth determine the history of American democracy? 8. What are most important values associated with Protestant heritage? 9. Why is there no official religion in the USA? 10. Which is at the center of religious life in your country: the church or the individual? Explain. 11. Is there a government-supported church in your country? 12. What does your religion teach about self-improvement? 13. How did the “Protestant ethic” help the new American nation to grow? 14. What is humanitarianism? Is this philosophy part of your religion? Does it exist outside your religion in your country? 15. What responsibility do the wealthy have, in your opinion? 16 What is the national religion of the USA? 17. Is there a mixing of religion and patriotism in your country? 18. How is patriotism revealed and exercised in your culture? 19. Do you know the national anthem of the Russian Federation? You surely can sing it right away, can’t you?

THE QUEST OF LAND: THE ENGLISH COLONIES

By the end of the 17th century, France, eager to build its own empire in the New World, had extended from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico, and from the Appalachians to the Rocky Mountains.

About 12,000 colonists lived there. The population of the neighboring English colonies was at least ten times greater, but the English colonies covered only a narrow strip of land bordering the Atlantic Ocean. England, France and Spain were the three European powers that planted the largest number of colonies in America. All the North American wars were the result of the worldwide maritime and colonial rivalry between Great Britain and France.

Most settlers who came to America in the 17th century were English, but there were also Dutch, Swedes and Germans in the middle regions, a few French in South Carolina and elsewhere, slaves from Africa, primarily in the South, and a scattering of Spaniards, Italians and Portuguese throughout the colonies. Thousands of refugees fled continental Europe to escape the pass of war and the poverty. In colonial America, land was plentiful and labor was scarce. Every free man had the opportunity to be economically independent. Reflecting the diverse geography of the American colonies, different economies and social systems developed.

Historically the United States was divided at the time of its founding by a broad division into three groups of states: New England, Middle Atlantic, and Southern. The majority of people in each area had common background.

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New England including Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut and New Hampshire were established by Puritans- deeply religious people anxious to escape the domination and corruption they found in England. In1630, nearly a thousand of settlers sailed into Massachusetts Bay. Unlike Pilgrims, these colonists were much better off. There were doctors, farmers, carpenters and soldiers among the Puritans. People used a trading system called barter- they exchanged all kinds of goods. The skills of the settlers brought the colony to prosperity. Very soon Massachusetts became the largest and the most influential among the new settlements in the New England.

Good stands of timber encouraged shipbuilding, excellent harbors promoted trade, and the sea became a source of great wealth. The Massachusetts Bay colony continued to expand its commerce and grew prosperous. Boston became one of America’s greatest ports. Fish, ship’s stores and wooden ware swelled the exports. Merchants and shippers would purchase slaves for the local rum producers. By 1660, Boston contained about 3,000 people.

The Puritans who had come to America for religious freedom, did not allow any religious freedom to anybody: they considered the ideas of the Puritan Church the only right ones and were intolerant to those settlers who disagreed. Such offenders were mercilessly driven from the colony. One of them, Roger Williams, founded a new settlement in Rhode Island and called it Providence. It became a place where all were free to worship as they pleased -Williams established complete freedom of religion, even for Catholics. Now one can see his bronze statue on the dome of the state house in Providence.

First explored by the Dutch, Connecticut became their furtrading area. The Dutch were followed by the English and in the 1630s, the Puritan colonists established there settlements. As the colonies grew, they began to trade with each other and with Great Britain. With the growth of trade, the ways of life were changing. Some people left their farms to work in the growing towns and cities. They became shoemakers, black-smiths, priests, lawyers, bankers and merchants. Education became highly valued. All these colonies and communities were to be an example to the world. New England was very different from the rest of the country: it was more religious, more thickly settled, and more jealous of its independence from British control than the other colonies.

The Middle Colonies

Society in the Middle Colonies was far more varied, cosmopolitan and tolerant than in New England. Pennsylvania and Delaware owed their initial success to William Penn, a Quaker preacher. Quakers were people who believed in God and thought men were equal, as they were all God’s children. They thought it was immoral for men to kill each other, so they refused military service. Penn asked King of England for a gift of land on

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the east coast of America (between Maryland and New York), where the Quakers could plant a colony. The king called it Pennsylvania, another way of saying “Penn’s woodland.” A bit later, Penn bought the land which is now known as the state of Delaware, where the Swedish had even had a colony in the 1630s. The heart of the colony became Philadelphia, meaning “brotherly love” in Greek. William Penn, who planned the city, believed that a well-ordered city was necessary to economic growth and moral health. He wanted to build a “green country town” which would not be sharply cut off from the surrounding forest and farmlands. Farming areas would be on the periphery but close enough to be accessible to the city dwellers. The city soon was to be known for its broad, tree-shaded streets, substantial houses, churches, markets, recreational areas, parks and busy docks. Penn’s ideas of city planning were widely copied in his day.

The inhabitants represented many languages, creeds and trades. Their talent for successful business enterprise made the city one of the thriving centers of colonial

America. Germans became the colony’s most skillful farmers. Other crafts became important, too. The ScotsIrish tended to settle in the back country, where they cleared land and lived by hunting and farming.

The colonists’ relations with the Native Americans were full of conflict from the beginning. This was because the two communities did not share the same social and economic values. Many settlers thought the Indians were savages and that their way of life had little value. They felt they had every right to farm the Indian lands. On the island which the Indians called “Man-a-hat-ta” (Manhattan), that is the Heavenly Land Another translation is “island of hills), wild animals were plentiful. The Shinnecock

Indians used the island – 13 miles long and 2 miles wide - for fishing and hunting. But they didn’t live there. In 1626, the Dutch “bought” the small rocky island in exchange for some colored beads, trinkets and rolls of cloth worth about 24 dollars. The Indians did not understand that once the land was sold, the Dutch had the right to keep them off, as they had no concept of private property. When the colonists found they could not turn the Indians into trading partners, they perceived them only as an obstacle to a more rapid exploitation of the land by Europeans. The lands were seized through war, threats, deception, or, treaties. During the mid-17th century, further colonization of Manhattan Island took place, and other settlements were begun in the Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens, and Staten Island. The Dutch villages that sprang upon Manhattan Island became a city called New Amsterdam. The official language was Dutch, but it was reported that 18 different languages were spoken there. The Dutch Company exported furs, timber and wheat. Captured by the British in 1664, New Amsterdam was renamed New York. Because of its

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favorable geography (the city is situated on the Hudson and East rivers and New York Bay), it soon became an important trading port. Large landed estates had been established in this region before the Revolution and a capitalist or business class had come to be highly developed. The Dutch continued to exercise an important social and economic influence of the New York region. Their sharp-stepped, gable roofs became a permanent part of the city’s architecture, and their merchants gave Manhattan much of its original bustling, commercial atmosphere. By 1775, its population was about 25,000.

The Southern Colonies Georgia was the last of the thirteen English colonies to be planted in America. It was founded in 1733 and was named in honor of King George II of England. The colony was launched and governed by a great British philanthropist, General James

Oglethorpe, as a settlement “Savannah” for prisoners to get a start in life. No slaves were allowed in Georgia. Each of the colonists possessed a small farm and was to work in the field from dawn to dusk. The land along the Atlantic coast of Georgia was swampy and suitable for rice rising. The Georgians and the Indians lived peacefully side by side. The colony developed very slowly and was the least populous of the British colonies. But all the same it was very important for Britain, as it protected prosperous Carolinas from Spaniards living in Florida. In the 1750s, a new governor was appointed by the king; slaves were brought in.

Virginia, Maryland, North and South Carolina, and Georgia were the predominantly rural settlements with very little urban development. Economic and social structure rested on the great planters and yeomen (free men). The planters (local aristocracy), sup-ported by labor force of slaves imported from Africa or the West Indies, held most of the political power and the best land. Charleston, South Carolina, became the leading port and prosperous trading center of the South. However, most whites in the South did not own estates. Since they had come from the British Isles as indentured servants, without their families, they obtained small farms and only gradually came to emphasize community and church.

SOCIETY. CULTURE. EDUCATION

Among the major European powers that attempted to settle North America, Britain was the most successful. Its first colonies laid the foundation for the experiences of ethnic groups in the following centuries. The English language, as well as English law, and social, economic and religious customs, were successfully transplanted to the New World. All of the groups which followed these earliest colonists were measured by their adherence to English standards. This meant that later immigrants had to undergo a period of adjustment during which they were treated by “the older stock” as outsiders. During the colonial period Germans, Scotch-Irish, French Protestants and others had to

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undergo these trials. Often non-British people pushed inland, escaping English influence. Although their hardships were enormous, restless settlers kept coming and some of them were pouring into Virginia. Living on the edge of the Indian country, frontier families built cabins, cleared tracks in the wilderness and cultivated maize and wheat. They had their own entertainments and amusements - great barbecues, dances, housewarmings for newly married couples, early versions of golf and tennis, skittles (a form of bowling, with nine pins), shooting matches and various contests for making quilted blankets. Quilts re-main an American tradition today. There was some horse racing, cockfighting and gambling (but that was only after the Puritan legacy of hard work and plain living had faded somewhat in the late 17th century).

Thus the ethnic diversity of the United States was apparent even at its birth. By the late 1700s, English made up 48%, Black’s percentage was 19%, Scotch-Irish composed 9% of the colonists, German were 7%; Welsh, Dutch, French and Swedish made up a scanty population (2-3%).

Culturally, the colonies were outposts of Britain. The difference between city and country life was striking. American city was an initiator of social changes. The forms of municipal government varied greatly from place to place: in New England, the town meeting –a gathering of citizens to discuss common concernsprevailed. Councilmen were elected to govern. This form of community government continues today in small towns in the Northeast. Charleston in South Carolina, was governed by the State Assembly. The city had no local representatives.

Freedom to learn, to speak, and to publish are among the basic elements of democratic way of life. In the 17th century, these freedoms were restricted throughout most of Europe. Many of the colonial leaders brought negative thoughts about these freedoms along with them to the New World. From the earliest days, they had misgivings about the growing spirit of independence among the settlers. These leaders believed that it was dangerous to educate men and women or even to allow them to read freely. They were against establishing free schools or printing presses in their colonies. On the other hand, many colonists held an opposing view. They believed that people should be free to learn, to think and to express their opinions. They also believed that printers should be free to print and distribute their own thoughts and the thoughts of others.

One of these colonists was John Peter Zenger. Zenger’s New York Weekly Journal, begun in 1733, printed criticism of the governor. Under British law, this made him guilty of criminal libel, and Zenger was jailed. His arrest excited intense interest throughout the colonies. Andrew Hamilton, one of the ablest lawyers in America, agreed to defend him. Hamilton, with force and passion, argued that charges printed by