V. The second half of the 19th century

1. North and south. Political parties

As cotton became more important in the South, so did the sla­very. Northerners feared that slavery would spread over more and more of the country. North and South grew apart in other ways besides slavery. The North had more industry. The South was most­ly farms. There were more large cities in the North, and more and more immigrants settled there. The two sections were becoming less and less alike.

In 1850, after the Mexican War, Congress had to decide whether slavery would be allowed in the new lands or not. Some southern­ers were even saying their states would leave the Union if the new lands were not open to slavery. Congress accepted the plan, which was called the Compromise - each state was to choose whether its territory would be slave or free. Fighting went on in some plac­es. Slavery became an important question in elections, as voters wanted to elect a person who felt the same way they did.

In 1854 a group of men had decided to start a new political party around the idea that slavery must not be allowed in the territories. They called it the Republican Party. Democrats could not agree about slavery. Southern Democrats wanted to allow slavery in all the territories. Northern Democrats thought that the people of each territory should decide about the slavery for themselves. In the election of 1860 Abraham Lincoln won the election . He was not an abolitionist, he did not plan to end slavery in the South, but he was determined that slavery would not spread to the territories and was also eager to save the Union, as he did not believe the southern states had a right to secede.

Soon after Lincoln was elected, seven southern states left the Union. Later, four others joined them. These eleven states called themselves the Confederate States of America, or the Confedera­cy. They explained that they considered slaves as property, and they felt themselves no longer protected by the Constitution.

2. The nation divides: the civil war

Not all the states with slavery left the Union. Missouri, Ken­tucky, Maryland, and Delaware stayed in the Union. One area of Virginia did not want to secede. So when Virginia seceded, the northwest part formed a new state called West Virginia. West Vir­ginia stayed in the Union.

Lincoln hoped the South would rejoin the union without bloodshed. But in April, 1861, Confederate soldiers fired at Union troops in Fort Sumter in South Carolina. That was the beginning of the Civil War.

For both North and South, the Civil War was long and hard. Many died in battle, many died of sickness in the army camps. The North set up a blockade to prevent the South from getting supplies from foreign ships.

The South had several great generals. Lincoln had wanted Gen­eral Robert E. Lee to lead the northern army. But Lee fought for the South because of his loyalty to Virginia, though he didn't believe in slavery, and he did not think the southern states should secede.

On January 1, 1863, President Lincoln signed The Emancipa­tion Proclamation which declared that all slaves in states fighting against the Union were free. About 180,000 blacks joined the Union army. When the war was over, the thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution freed all slaves.

After several crushing battles the southern army could fight no longer. On April 9, 1865, Lee surrendered to Grant at Appomattox Court House in Virginia. The war was over.

Five days after the war ended, Abraham and Mary Lincoln went to see a play at the Ford Theater in Washington. An actor named John Wilkes Booth found his way to the President's seat, shot Lincoln and escaped. Lincoln was carried to a house across the street. He died the next morning. Booth was killed by sol­diers a few days later. The nation had gained peace but had lost a great President.

AFTER THE WAR

The Civil War helped transform the nation's economy and way of life. The war effort required more factories and better transpor­tation systems. The years after the war are called Reconstruction.

Reconstruction was a time of bitterness and sorrow; however, it was also a time of growth and change. Gradually, many of the large plantations were sold, and the land was divided to make smaller farms. Some northerners came to buy land or start busi­nesses. Many things made it possible for new businesses to get started and be successful in this period. New inventions came into American life, inventors were think­ing up new things that could be manufactured and sold. The rail­roads made it easier to send freight over long distances.

More people had extra money to invest trying to make a profit. Companies sold stock and people invested in stock becoming stock­holders. Giant corporations were formed. Thomas Edison, after improving Bell's telephone , invented a practical light bulb, a pho­nograph, a dictating machine, a motion picture machine, his team of helpers - the Edison Pioneers - developed many things. Edi­son formed several companies to sell his inventions , he also orga­nized an electric power company. It had a station that supplied electricity for homes, businesses, and street lights. Soon one city after another started to put in electric power. Edison's power com­pany later became General Electric.

Electricity began to be used in city transportation - trolley cars ran on power that came from overhead electric wires. In 1888, Richmond, Virginia, became the first city to use trolley cars. They were a great improvement over streetcars pulled by horses. A few cities built underground tunnels for electric cars - subways.

By 1900 most of the steel used in the country was made in Andrew Carnegie's steel empire. John D. Rockfeller got control of most of the country's oil business.

Since population was growing rapidly, there were more cus­tomers for new products. Amanda Jones thought up a new way of canning food and also invented an oil burner. Margaret Knight invented a machine that folded heavy paper into bags with square bottoms. It was the original idea for the kind of bag used by super­markets today. The newspapers printed in the late 1800's con­tained ads showing things that were recent inventions at that time.

Business leaders were thinking up new ways of organizing and running companies. Factory workers formed labor unions to de­fend their rights. One of the most successful labor organizations was the American Federation of Labor (AFL), started in 1886.

AMERICA IN THE PACIFIC

For many years Japan had kept itself apart from the rest of the world. Japanese rulers had allowed almost no trade with Europe and America. But in 1854 President Millard Fillmore sent Commodore Matthew Perry to Japan, and a treaty of trade was signed which gave great opportunities for both countries.

In 1867 the Senate approved buying Alaska from Russia. The price was a little over seven million dollars. Alaska became an American territory. A huge area had been added to the United States. Fishing along the Alaska coast was already an important business. Alaska proved to be a rich storehouse of other natural resources. These included timber, furs, gold, and copper. Many years later huge amounts of oil were discovered off Alaska's north­ern coast. When Alaska became a state in 1959, people in Anchor­age pinned an extra star on a 48-star flag.

By the late 1800's Americans were taking an even greater in­terest in distant lands looking for new places as markets for their goods and new sources of raw materials. One of such places was Hawaii. The Americans living in Hawaii had grown powerful and by 1893 they wanted to govern the islands themselves. They took away the queen's power and set up a republic. Five years later Hawaii became a United States territory. In 1899 the United States and Germany agreed to divide the Samoan islands between them. In this way the U.S. got another Pacific possession - it became known as American Samoa.

EXERCISES:

I FIND RUSSIAN EQUIVALENTS OF THE FOLLOWING PHRASES:

To deal peacefully with; to stay on friendly terms; to look ahead; to double the size of the the country; the greatest bargain in history; to gain control over; to be taken by surprise; to fail to capture; to be in charge of defending; widely scattered cattle farms; to come under the rule; to annex the territory; to be in favor of; to be forced to surrender; to sign a peace treaty; to charge high prices; to rejoin the union; to set up a blockage; to fold heavy paper into bags with square bottoms.

II MAKE UP YOUR OWN SENTENCES WITH THE FOLLOWING POPULAR EXPRESSIONS:

be off with one's bargain; bind a bargain ; drive a hard bargain ;Dutch bargain( wet bargain);

a bargain is a bargain ;bring a charge of smth. against smb; be out of control; to surrender (oneself) to a sense of apathy; to fail words; better a lean peace than a fat victory ; the bird of peace; peace reigns / comes / prevails; be kittle cattle to shoe; telltale sign.

III DISCUSS THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS:

1 What was the policy of Thomas Jefferson?

2 What achievements in expansion the US territories were gained under Thomas Jefferson?

3 Why did the war break out in 1803 between France and Great Britain?

4 What were the reasons of military conflict between United States and Great Britain?

5 What were the greatest battles of this war?

6 What helped American forces to win the war?

7 How did Taxes come under the rule of Mexican government?

8 Under what circumstances was the republic of Taxes formed?

9 Who was the president of New Republic?

10 Why did Taxes remain an independent state for almost ten years?

11 Who got the name of expansionists?

12 How did the President James K. Polk try to obtain the South of Oregon called California?

13 When was a peace treaty between Mexico and the United States signed?

14 How and when did the gold rush begin?

15 What accounted for the development of California during and after the gold rush?

16 What factors influenced the fact that the North and the South of the country were developing in quite opposite directions?

17 Why did the question of slavery become the matter of general concern?

18 What plan was called a Compromise?

19 What was the policy of Abraham Lincoln?

20 What states and why decided to leave the Union?

21 What conflict break out in April, 1861?

22 What document was signed by President Lincoln in January 1863?

23 What did the victory in the Civil war cost the President Lincoln?

24 Why were the years after the Civil War called Reconstruction?

25 What changes did economy, industry and social life undergo in this period?

26 How did the USA establish it’s relations with Japan?

27 Why was Alaska an expedient acquisition for the USA?

29 What other territories were obtained by the USA in 1800-1899?

IV TRANSLATE INTO ENGLISH:

В серединеXIXв. в США развернулось движение против рабства, которое распространилось в южных, сельскохо­зяйственных штатах. Рабство на Юге тормозило развитие промышленности и сельского хозяйства всей страны. Против рабства выступали рабочие и фермеры. Усилившаяся буржуазия Севера не могла более мириться с тем, что центральная власть в США находилась в руках рабовладельцев. Назревало решающее столкновение между промышленным Севером и рабо­владельческим Югом.

В 1854 г. в США образовалась новая политическая партия республиканская. Республиканцы требовали ограничения рабства. На выборах 1860 г. кандидат республиканской партии Авраам Линкольн был избран на пост президента. Потерпев поражение на выборах, рабовладельцы начали подготовку к вооруженной борьбе. Рабовладельческие штаты заявили о выходе из Соединенных Штатов. Рабовладельцы создали новое государство — Конфе­дерацию южных штатов. 12 апреля 1861г. был обстрелян форт Самтер. Началась гражданская война, которая закончилась победой Севера. Война нанесла большой материальный ущерб стране и стоила огромных жертв. Север и Юг потеряли убитыми и умершими от ран 600 тыс. человек, что превышает потери вооруженных сил США во второй мировой войне.