美國文化概況TERMS終極版

1、Chapter 1 Introduction:1. Thomas Jefferson: the third President of the United States, and the principal author of the Declaration of Independence (1776). An influential Founding Father, Jefferson envisioned America as a great "Empire of Liberty" that would promote republicanism.2. Boston T

2、ea Party:was a direct action by colonists in Boston against the British government and the monopolistic East India Company that controlled all the tea coming into the colonies. On December 16, 1773, after officials in Boston refused to return three shiploads of taxed tea to Britain, a group of colon

3、ists boarded the ships and destroyed the tea by throwing it into Boston Harbor. The Tea Party was the culmination of a resistance movement throughout British America against the Tea Act, which had been passed by the British Parliament in 1773. The Boston Tea Party was a key event in the growth of th

4、e American Revolution.3. Slavery: was a form of unfree labor which existed as a legal institution in North America for more than a century before the founding of the United States in 1776, and continued mostly in the South until the passage of the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constituti

5、on in 1865.4. Civil War: Eleven Southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America, also known as "the Confederacy". The southern states feared slavery would be abolished and the energy of the North would threaten the economic

6、 independence of the South. Lincoln took the position that secession was illegal and a rejection of democracy. The secession also prompted an outburst of patriotic indignation in the North. Thus, Civil War was fought to preserve the Union. The northern victory restored the Union and helped to quicke

7、n America's transformation into a modern nation.5. Abraham Lincoln:was the 16th President of the United States. As president, he led the country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisisthe American Civil Warpreserving the Union while ending slavery and promoting economic and fin

8、ancial modernization.6. Gilded Age:Historians refer to the years between the Civil War and the start of the 20th century as the Gilded Age, borrowing the title of an 1873 novel by Mark Twain and Charles Dudley Warner. The Gilded Age was an era of industrial giants, of business people who encountered

9、 no boundaries as they amassed wealth and influence, of individuals who discovered how to reap enormous benefits from an economy in transition. The Gilded Age was an era of material comfort for the middle and upper classes, also an era of hopeless and hardship for millions of other Americans.7. Depr

10、ession Era:was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The depression originated in the U.S., starting with the fall in stock prices that began around September 4, 1929 and became worldwide news with the stock market crash of October 29, 1929. The Depression brou

11、ght physical and psychological hardship to all classes of Americans. The middle class lost their belief in everlasting prosperity, and young people wandered, homeless and jobless, through the country.9. Franklin D. Roosevelt : Franklin D. Roosevelt was the 32nd President of the United States (193319

12、45) and a central figure in world events during the mid-20th century, leading the United States during a time of worldwide economic crisis and world war. The only American president elected to more than two terms, he facilitated a durable coalition that realigned American politics for decades.Chapte

13、r 2 The Constitution and System of Government: 1. legislative articleThis is the longest of all articles. It says that only Congress has the power to make laws and defines its two-chamber system. The Senate consists of 100 members (tow from each state), as for the House of Representatives, the total

14、 number is 435, fixed by Congress in 1998. (P.27)2. executive articleThis article establishes the Electoral College, describes the presidents term of office, the qualification for becoming president, and the presidents duties and power. ( P.27-28)3. judicial articleArticle III establishes the judici

15、al branch of government and the federal court system. It also provides that federal judges would serve lifelong terms and that their pay could not be diminished. It makes judiciary remains impartial and immune from political and other pressures. The judicial branch can be checked by Congress through

16、 its power to create and eliminate lower federal courts.Section 2 is the basis of the Supreme Courts right to declare laws of Congress unconstitutional. And with the advice and consent of the Senate, the president appoints the justices of the Supreme Court and the judges of the lower federal courts.

17、Under Section 3, no person can be coveted of treason against the U.S without an open confession or the testimonies of two witnesses. Besides, the family of a traitor does not share the guilt.(P.28)4. separation of powersThe separation of powers, is a model for the governance of a state. Under this m

18、odel, the state is divided into branches, each with separate and independent powers and areas of responsibility so that no one branch has more power than the other branches. The normal division of branches is into an executive, a legislature, and a judiciary.5. checks and balancesThe Constitutional

19、system of checks and balances means each branch of government scrutinize and restrain the other branches so as to prevent one branch from ignoring or overpowering the others.6. Federalist Papers (ppt. unit 2)Federalist Papers is a series of 85 essays advocating the ratification of proposed constitut

20、ion Written by Hamilton, Madison and John Jay. It is a primary source for interpretation of Constitution for it explains particular provisions of the Constitution in detail.7. James Madison (ppt. unit 2+ p.36)The 4th president of the USA (1809-1817)Principal author of the Constitution.Leader of the

21、1st Congress, Father of the Bill of Rights.Founder of the Republican (Democratic-Republican) Party with Thomas Jefferson.Writer of the Federalist Papers together with Alexander Hamilton and John Jay.Two most important essays in The Federalist papers: Number 10, which explores the nature of political

22、 conflict (faction) and how it can be controlled and Number 51, which explores the system of separation of powers and checks and balances.8. Alexander Hamilton (ppt. unit 2)The 1st Secretary of Treasury.Pincipal author of the Constitution.Writer of the Federalist Papers.Founder of the Federalist Par

23、ty.Calling for a powerful central government.Killed in a duel with Burr, who lost the election campaign against Thomas Jefferson.9. Republicanism (p.37)A republican government is one of in which people elect representatives to govern. In the case of the U.S., the people vote for members of the House

24、 of Representatives and for members of the Senate. The people also elect the members of the electoral college, who, in turn, choose the president. To avoid aristocracy and monarchy, the framers had to try republicanism though they had no model of a republican government to follow.10. Federalism (p.3

25、7)It is the division of power between a central government and state units. When conflict emerges, the central government takes the upper hand. The Constitution specified the powers of the national government and the powers that were denied to the states. All other powers belonged to the states. Gen

26、erally, the states were required to give up only the power when they were in the way of an effective national government.11. Two-chamber System（p.27+ CliffNotes）Congress is divided into two chambers, the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Senate consists of 100 members (two from each state

27、), and Senators are believed to serve as a voice for the nation's wealthy and established interests. As for the House of Representatives, the total number is 435 and House members face elections every two years in smaller districts, so they are expected to be closer to the people.Chapter 3 The A

28、mendments: 1. Bill of Rights：is the collective name for the first ten amendments to the United States Constitution which limit the power of the U.S federal government. These limitations protect the natural rights of liberty and property including freedom of religion, speech, a free press, free assem

29、bly, and free association, as well as the right to keep and bear arms. It plays a key role in American law and government, and remains a vital symbol of the freedoms and culture of the nation. (Wiki)2. freedom of ideas：The First Amendment protects against government suppression of the unrestricted e

30、xchange of ideas. The guarantees of freedom of speech, the press, and religion have been “first” in the several way the first listed in the Bill of Rights and the first of those amendments to be fully applied against state action. P433. freedom of speech：is the freedom to speak freely without censor

31、ship. It includes the right to express, seek, receive and impart information and ideas. (Wiki) In USA, there are 3 kinds of speeches may be prohibited by the Constitution. 1. Clear and Present Danger Doctrine. (Prevent speech that creates a serious and immediate danger to society.) 2. Symbolic Speec

32、h (actions other than speech itself but protected by the 1st Amendment.) 3. Commercial Speech (require commercial packages and advertisers to prove all claims for their products.) P444. freedom of religionCongress shall make no law respecting the establishment of religion,or prohibiting the free exe

33、rcise thereof;or abridging the freedom of the speech,or of the press;or the right of the people peaceably to assemble,and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.5. right to bear armsThe second Amendment declares:" A well-regulated militia being necessary to the security of a fre

34、e state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed." Despite soaring statistics of gun-related crimes, lobbies for citizens' right to arms remain strong.The controversy on gun use is unlikely to resolved in the immediate future.6. symbolic speechThe First Amendmen

35、t's guarantees of speech,the press,and assembly are broadly interpreted to mean freedim of expression.The Court continues to wrestle with the issue of what kinds of conduct are symbolic speech protected by the First Amendment and what kinds of conduct are outside of this protection.7. Miranda ri

36、ghtsMiranda rights is a warning that is required to be given by police in the United States to criminal suspects in police custody (or in a custodial interrogation) before they are interrogated to inform them about their constitutional rights.Chapter 4 Education: 1. Self-government P60 P74Education

37、in America is a local matter. Local boards of education are immediate policy-makers for the schools. The local school district is the basic unit of educational administration, organization and support for elementary and secondary schools in the U.S. Its typical decision-making body is an elected boa

38、rd of citizens. School districts have their own power to obtain money to support the local schools.2. Decentralization P 60(The Department of Education is in no position to claim authority over the vast range of educational institutions.)There is no federal institution established to supervise the A

39、merican educational system with a uniform curriculum or a uniform set of qualification standards. Education in America is a local matter. Local boards of education are immediate policy-makers for the schools.3. Universality P 59General consensus is that a basic education was an unalienable right to

40、children and youth who lived in the United States. Public schools had the obligation to provide some form of education service for all students of school age.4. Compulsory education (elementary & secondary) P59In 1852, Massachusetts passed the first compulsory education law in the new nation, co

41、vering young people 6 to 16 years old. Over the next few decades, all other states in the country follow suits, believing that a basic education was an unalienable right to children and youth who lived in the United States.5. Public taxation for schools P60Local taxation is the major source of schoo

42、l financing, state and federal funds constituting additional subsidies only.6. G.I. Bill of Rights P 63The Servicemen's Readjustment Act, popularly called G.I. Bill of Rights, granted financial aid to members of the armed forces after the end of World War II. Veterans can use their G.I. Bill of

43、Rights to go to college. Their tremendous achievements in higher education have changed the traditional image of higher education: before them, it had been something for the elite, now it was within the reach of ordinary citizens.Chapter 5 Immigration and Ethnicity: 1. Hispanics: people of Mexican,

44、Puerto Rican, Cuban, South or Central American, or other Spanish culture or origin, regardless of race.2. Asian Americans: Americans of Asian descent, including individuals of East Asian, South Asian, and Southeast Asian origin. 3. Afro-Americans: pertaining to or characteristic of Americans of Afri

45、can ancestry; "Afro-American culture" "many black people preferred to be called African-American or Afro-American"4. Native Americans: A member of any of the indigenous peoples of the Western Hemisphere. The ancestors of the Native Americans are generally considered by scientists

46、 to have entered the Americas from Asia by way of the Bering Strait sometime during the late glacial epoch.5. melting pot: a crucible that burns away the “inferiority” of people of different races and merge them into the mainstream American society. 6. salad bowl: a peaceful coexistence of people of

47、 different races maintaining their own values, language, customs and culture.7. Xenophobia: intense dislike or fear of foreigners or strangers.8. Immigration Act (1965): P79represented a marked shift of policy. It did away with the national origins system and based immigration permits on the need fo

48、r occupational skills. It placed a high priority on family reunification and established a seven-category preference system for family members, skill-based individuals and refugees. It removed the barriers to Asian immigration, which eventually resulted in an unexpectedly greater proportion of immig

49、rants arriving from Asia than from Europe. Chapter 6 Family and Personal Relationships: 1. traditional family: P94(in colonial American society) it was a place of production, a primarily self-sufficient agricultural unit, where most of the work took place, and a place where servants, apprentices, bo

50、arders and lodgers might live. (ppt)a place of reprodiction, a primarily self-sufficient agricultural unit, where the husband is responsible for raising the family and the wife responsible for household chores.2. heterosexual marriage: marriage between a male and a female. P95, The marriage contract

51、 in the contemporary United States is that the couple must be heterosexual. Gay men and lesbians do not have the legal right to marry.3. no fault divorce: P99The no-fault divorce law provides that divorce should be granted on the basis of irreconcilable differences that have caused the irremediable

52、breakdown of the marriage. It also provides for mostly equal division of property, and bases alimony on the length of the marriage and the earning ability of both spouses. (wiki) No-fault divorce is a divorce in which the dissolution of a marriage requires neither a showing of wrong-doing of either

53、party nor any evidentiary proceedings at all. Laws providing for no-fault divorce allow a family court to grant a divorce in response to a petition by either party to the marriage, without requiring the petitioner to provide evidence that the respondent has committed a breach of the marital contract

54、. Laws providing for no-fault divorce also limit the potential legal defenses of a respondent who would prefer to remain married. There is no mediation involved.4. non-family household A non-family household consists either of one person living alone or of two or more persons who share a dwelling, b

55、ut do not constitute a family.5. Cohabitation usually refers to an arrangement whereby two people decide to live together on a long-term or permanent basis in an emotionally and/or sexually intimate relationship.Chapter 7 Domestic Economy: 1. fiscal policy：National fiscal policy focuses on the taxin

56、g, spending, and borrowing activities of the national government. The principal instrument of U.S. fiscal policy is the federal budget.2. GDP: Gross domestic product (GDP) refers to the market value of all officially recognized final goods and services produced within a country in a given period. GD

57、P per capita is often considered an indicator of a country's standard of living.3. federal budget: The Budget of the United States Government is the President's proposal to the U.S. Congress which recommends funding levels for the next fiscal year, beginning October 1. The budget is a collec

58、tion of presidential initiatives, congressional decisions, and economic conditions, thus a sum of hundreds of political calculations and compromises.4. Surplus: Surplus means when there is more supply than demand, as in extra resources. 盈余5. Deficit: A deficit is the amount by which a sum of money falls short of the required amount. 赤字federal deficit (surplus)比上面的準(zhǔn)確federal shortfall that results when the government spends more in a fiscal year than it receives in revenue. To cover the shortfall, the government usually borrows from the public by float