美国概况名词解释和问答.doc

28.the Great LakesThe Great Lakes are the most important lakes in the United States. They are Lake Superior, which is the largest fresh water lake in the world, Lake Michigan the only one entirely in the U.S. Lake Huron, Lake Erie and Lake Ontario. They are all located between Canada and the United States except Lake Michigan. 29.New EnglandNew England is made up of six states of the North-East. They are Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut. It is sometimes called the birthplace of America. 30.baby boom“baby boom” refers to the great increase of birth rate between 1946 and 1964. People born in this period are called baby bammers31. the Chinese Exclusion ActIt was passed by the U.S. Congress in may, 1882. It stopped Chinese immigration for ten years. 32.the Bill of RightsIn 1789, James Madison introduced in the House of Representations a series of amendments which later were drafted into twelve proposed amendments and sent to the states for ratification. Ten of them were ratified in 1791 and became the first ten amendments to the Constitution the Bill of Rights. 33.the Emancipation ProclamationDuring the Civil war, Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation to get more support for the Union at home and abroad. It granted freedom to all slaves. 34.the Constitutional ConventionIn 1787, a conference was held in Philadelphia to consider what should be done to make the Articles of Confederation adequate. All the delegates agreed to revise the Articles of Confederation and draw up a new plan of government. After struggle, the Constitution was ratified at last. This conference is called the Constitutional Convertion.35. the Progressive MovementThe Progressive Movement is a movement demanding government regulation of the economy and social conditions. It spread quickly with the support of large numbers of people across the country. It was not an organized campaign with clearly defined goals. 36.the Peace ConferenceThe Peace Conference or the Paris Conference, began on January 18, 1919. The conference was actually a conference of division of colonies of Germany, Austro-Hungary and the Ottoman Empire and the grabbing of as much as possible from the defeated nations. It was dominated by the Big Four (the United States, Britain. France, and Italy) 37.the Truman Doctrine:On March 12, 1949, President Truman put forward the Truman Doctrine in a speech to the joint session of Congress. The Truman Doctrine meant to say that the U.S. government would support any country which said it was fighting against Communism.38. the Marshall PlanOn June 5, 1947, the Secretary of State George Marshall announced the Marshall Plan, which meant that in order to protect Western Europe from possible Soviet expansion, the United States decided to offer Western European countries economic aid.39. the New FrontierIt was the President Kennedys program which promised civil rights for blacks, federal aid to farmers and to education, medical care for all and the abolition of poverty.40.checks and balances: The government is divided into three branches, the legislative, the executive and the judicial, each has part of the powers but not all the power. And each branch of government can check, or block, the actions of the other branches. The three branches are thus in balance. This called “checks and balances”.21.Why did the early settlers come to America? Who were the Pilgrims? Who were the Puritans? What were the features in the colonial period which had influence on later American development? The early settlers came to America either for the opportunity to realize their dreams and better their lives or for the freedom from religious and governmental persecution. The Pilgrims were persons who suffered religious persecution in England and went to Holland and later moved to America in 1620. The Puritans were the members of a Protestant group in England who wanted to purify the Church of England. Dissatisfied and threatened in England, they saw America as a refuge and migrated to America since 1630. There were a number of features in the colonial period which had influence on later American development. They were: representative form. of government, rule of law, respect of individual rights, religious tolerance and a strong spirit of individual enterprise.22.What were the causes of the War of Independence? The economy in the thirteen colonies developed very fast and people wanted more power to detemine their own business. But the policy of the British government was to bring the development under control and to collect more taxes from the colonies. On April 19, 1775, on their way to Concord to seize the military supplies of the militia there, the British soldiers met armed militiamen. The shots were fired, the War of Independence began.23.What was unusual about the Article of Confederation? What was the struggle at the Constitutional Convention? How was the conflict solved? The Article of Confederation was unusual in many ways. First, it provided for no king. The drafters blamed the troubles with Britain on king George III. So they decided not to have a king but to have a republic. This was revolutionary. Second, while the Articles created a central government in the form. of a Congress, the emphasis was still on state powers. Third, the Articles of Confederation was a written constitution for the United States. No important country in the world at that time, including Britain, had a written constitution. At the Constitution Convertion the delegates all agreed it was impossible to try to patch up the Articles of Confederation, and decided to ignore them and draw up a new plan of government. Here contradictions emerged between the bigger states and smaller states, between the industrial commercial interests and landed interests, etc. In the end, the conflict was resolved by the “Great Compromise” of July 16, giving each state and equal vote in the Senate but making representation in the House reflect the size of each states population.24.Why did the Civil War break out? How did the war end? In the early 1800s, the Northern states turned from farming to manufacturing. Black slavery soon disappeared in the North. But things were different in the South. The South expanded both its agriculture and its slavery. The problem of slavery became a serous political issue. The abolitionists tried to abolish slavery while the South tried to keep it. When Abraham Lincoln was elected President, the Southern states broke away and formed a new nation. Then Lincoln was determined to maintain the Union and the war broke out on April 12, 1861, Lincoln realized that he could win support for the Union at home and abroad by making the war a just war against slavery. So he issued Emancipation Proclamation. Thus England and France stood by the Unions side. Many black slaves joined the Union Army. After a series of battles, Robert Lee could no longer hold Richmond. He surrendered on April 9, 1865. The Civil War ended.25.What were the contents of the New Deal? The New Deal included the following contents;(1) establishment and strengthening of government regulation and control of banking, credit and currency systems, overcoming the financial crisis and restriction of certain extreme practices of financial capital;(2) federal government management of relief and establishment of social security system such as the formation of the Civilian Conservation Crops and the setting-up of the Tennessee Valley Authority;(3) stimulation of the recover of industry and agriculture;(4) formulation and implementation of federal labour laws to raise the role of labour in the relations of production;(5) improvement of the situation of minorities and members of certain religious groups.26. What was the impact of the Vietnam War-on American society? The Vietnam War had a great impact on American society.(1) The United States was weakened as a result of the long war.(2) American society had never been so divided since the Civil War.(3) There was serious disagreement with in the ruling circle.(4) The image of the United States, especially the image of the American armed forces, was discredited.27.Who was McCarthy and what was McCarthyism? Joseph R. McCarthy was U.S. Senator. He started his campaign by saying on Feb. 9, 1950 that he had the names of over 200 Communists in the State Department. His campaign of accusation and anti-Communist hysteria was called McCarthyism.28.What is counterculture? What are some of the forms of counterculture? Counterculture is a movement of revolt against the moral values, the aesthetic standards, the personal behavior. and the social relations of conventional society.Revolutionaries became models for some people. Many young people experimented with drugs. Music, especially rock music, became the chief vehicle for the counterculture attack on the status quo.29.What are the functions of the Congress? The Congress has many functions, but the most central is the passage of law. One of the most important non-legislative functions of the Congress is the power to investigate. A second important power is to compel testimony from unwilling witness and to cite for contempt of Congress witness who refuse to testify, and for perjury those who give false testimony.30.What are some of the characteristics of American education?(1) Formal education in the United States consists of elementary, secondary and higher education.(2) Public educations is free and compulsory.(3) Diversity is considered to be an outstanding characteristic of American education.(4)Education is a function of the states, not the federal government.Write about 150 on the following topic. 1.Why and how did the English Parliament come into being? After king John died in 1216, his son became Henry III. He filled the most important offices with foreigners, undertook an expensive war which ended in the loss of a large land and demanded more money to enable his son to be king of Sicily. So the barons rebelled. Under the leadership of Simon de Montfort, they defeated the king in 1264. In 1265, Simon de Montrort summoned the Great Council to meet at Westminster, together with two knights from each country and two citizens from each town. This meeting has been considered as the earliest parliament. The Great Council developed later into the Lords and the Commons known as a parliament. Both Houses were called to agree to taxation. The Commons could present petitions to the king which were the first parliamentary bills. But Parliament only met by royal invitation. Its role was to offer advice, not to make decisions. The most important part of Parliament was the House of Lords.2.How did the Civil Wars break out? What were the consequences of the Civil Wars? Charles I, also believed “the Divine Right of kings”. His prerogative rights should not be challenged by anyone. It encouraged confrontation with Parliament, whose members had become increasingly Puritan in sympathy. He managed to rule England for 11 years without Parliament. But in 1640, Charles needed money and feared the invasion of the Scots and had to call the Long Parliament. Then a whole series of measures were introduced by the Parliament limiting the authority of the Crown while increasing its own. Thus, by 1642, the king and the commons were at each others throats, war was inevitable. In 1642, the first Civil War broke out. By autumn 1646, Parliament held most of England and next year Charles was captured but escaped. He made a deal with the Scots who invaded England but were defeated by Cromwell. Thus was the beginning of the Second Civil War. In November 1648, the king was captured again and condemned to death.The English Civil Wars have been seen a conflict between Parliament and the king, but also as a conflict between the economic interests of the urban middle classes and the traditional economic interests of the Crown. The English Civil Wars not only overthrew feudal system in England but also shook the foundation of the feudal rule in Europe. It is generally regarded as the beginning of modern world history. 3.Tell briefly the history of the two-party system in the United States. What are the characteristics of the two major parties in the United States today? Political parties are the basis of the American political system. In general, America has a two-party system. This means that two major political parties-now the Democrats and the Republicans-dominate politics at the federal, state and local levels. There have been four periods in the history of political parties in America. The first periods of the party system began with the first two major parties or camps the Federalists and the Anti-Federalists led by Alexander Hamilton. Most of the Anti-Federalists later accepted the Constitution with the Bill of Rights, and began to call themselves Democratic-Republican. After the 1828 election of Andrew Jackson, the Democratic-Republican Party split. The main faction, led by Andrew Jackson, called themselves the Democratic Party, while the faction opposed to Jackson formed the Whig Party in 1834. As the struggle over slavery intensified, the majority of the Whig Party, part of the democrats, and other anti-slavery elements founded in 1854 the Republican Party. The third phase of the two-party system ran from the 1860s to the 1920s with the Republican Party dominating the political scene for most of the time. The fourth period began with Franklin D. Roosevelts coming into power and lasted till the 1980s. In this period, for about 50 years, with short interruptions, the Democratic Party was dominant.The Two major parties are really not very different today. But this does not mean there is not difference between them. On economic issues, the Democrats traditionally favour government intervention while the Republicans stress the role of the market more. On social issues the Democrats support a strong social security system while the Republicans oppose large government social security programs. In spite of these differences, the two parties both believe in individualism, defend capitalism and uphold private ownership of means of production. In terms of organization the two parties are actually loose political coalitions.4.What were the causes and consequences of the War of 1812? The causes leading to the war were the following:(1) A war between Britain and France was going on in Europe. First the American government adopted a policy of not allowing trading with both countries. Later the U.S. government changed its policy by stating that if any of the two countries gave up its blockade against American shipping, the U.S. world lift the prohibition. In 1811, the U.S., on the condition that France would drop its blockade against American shipping, lifted the ban. This angered the British.(2) The Americans resented the British practice of impressing or forcibly removing seamen from American ships on the grounds that they were British subjects.(3) The U.S. wanted to take advantage of the War in Europe, when Britain and France had no time to look after their interests in the New World, to expand into Canada or Spanish Florida. This harmed the interests of the British. The war had great impact on the development of the Unite States. Firstly, the war made people realize the importance of a strong national government. Secondly, the