contacted英美概况期末考试复习资料

American Beginnings

1. What were the new and powerful social forces which led to the

awakening of Europe and the discovery of America? P34

The

first

force

was

the

development

of

capitalism.

The

growth

of

capitalism

produced

two

new

classes- the

bourgeoisie

[?b?

< br>r

?

w

ɑ?'zi?]and

the

working

class

with

the

development

of

commerce

and

trade,

the

bourgeoisie

become

increasingly

powerful

in

politics

as

well

as

in

economy, so they wanted to share more power with feudal lords.

The second force was the Renaissance ['ren

?

s

ɑ?ns], which was marked by

a changing outlook on life.

The

third

force

was

the

Religious

Reformation,

a

religious

force

movement that started from Germany.

2. What

was

the

unique

American

phenomenon?

How

did

it

come into being? Do you think it still exi

sts in today’s American

society? P36

The enactment [

?

'n?ktm

?

nt of laws for the colony and the enslavement of

Africans combined constituted a unique American phenomenon..

on the one hand, the English and other Europeans went to North America

for

seeking

freedom.

On

the

other

hand,

these

very

white

people

who

were seeking and fighting for their own freedom deprived black Africans

of their freedom.

On

July

30,

1619,

the

first

meeting

of

an

elected

legislature,

a

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representative

assembly,

was

held

in

Virginia.

A

month

later,

still

in

Virginia, a Dutch ship brought in over 20 Negroes as servants for a term

of years to make a start toward the enslavement of Africans within what

was to be the American republic.

This

phenomenon

still

exists

in

today’s

American

socie

ty,

such

as

the

racial discrimination. Until now, the black people still receive the unfair

prejudice. However, the society in America is full of freedom, especially

to the white people. They have a lot of rights in their life.

3. In

what

way

did

the

pattern

of

founding

of

Maryland

influence American culture?

In

1648,

Lord

Baltimore

appointed

a

Protestant

governor,

and

the

next

year, the Maryland Toleration Act, which assured freedom of worship to

all who believed in Jesus Christ, was passed.

Because

the

protestant

majority

were

capitalistic-minded

people

and

refused to carry out the feudal plan, and because the wilderness of North

America

provided

plenty

of

land

while

labor

was

scarce,

it

was

impossible for Lord Baltimore to have his feudal plan executed. Not long

after

the

founding

of

his

colony,

the

feudal

experimental

plan

was

dropped, and the colony, like other colonies in North America, followed a

capitalist development road.

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4.

In

what

way

did

Puritanism

influence

American

culture?

P37-38

The

Puritans

believed

that

everyone

had

a

calling,

which

was

given

by

God.

Working

hard

and

living

a

moral

life

were

their

ethics,

and

they

concluded that the Bible was the authority of their doctrine, so education

was essential for Puritans.

The Puritans hoped t

o build “a city upon hill”

-an ideal community. Since

that time, Americans have viewed their country as a great experiment, a

worthy

model

for

other

nations.

This

sense

of

mission

has

been

very

strong in the minds of many Americans.

New

England

also established

another

American

tradition

—

a

strain

of

often intolerant moralism. The Puritans believed that governments should

enforce

God's

morality.

They

strictly

punished

drunks,

adulterers,

violators

of

the

Sabbath

and

other

religious

believers

different

from

themselves.

Roger Williams,

one of the

Puritans

who

protested

that

the

state should not interfere with religion, was driven out of Massachusetts.

In

1635,

he

set

up

Rhode

Island

colony,

which

guaranteed

religious

freedom and the separation of Church and state. The Puritans also have

left rich cultural heritage to future Americans. The American values such

as individualism, hard work, respect of education owe very much to the

Puritan beliefs.

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The Political System

1. What is a federal system?

A

federal

system

is

one

in

which

power

is

shared

between

a

central

authority and its constituent parts, with some rights reserved to each. The

Constitution

specified

exactly

what

power

the

central

government

had

and which power was reserved for the states.

2. How did the delegates from the

early British colonies

design

the constitution?

In the course of the Convention, the delegates designed a new form of

government

for

the

United

States.

The

plan

for

the

government

was

written in very simple language in a document called the Constitution of

the

United

States.

In

writing the

Constitution, the delegates had to deal

with two main fears shares by most Americans.

3.

What

were

the

two

main

fears

shared

by

Americans

while

writing

the

constitution

and

how

did

they

deal

with

them?

P52-53

One

fear

was

that

one

person

or

group,

including

the

majority,

might

became too powerful or be able to seize control of the country and create

a

tyranny.

To

guard

against

this

possibility,

the

delegates

set

up

a

government

consisting

of

three

parts,

or

branches,

the

executive,

the

legislative and the judicial. Each branch has a way of counteracting and

limiting any wrongful action by another branch.

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Another

fear

was

that

the

new

central

government

might

weaken

or

taken away the power of the state governments to run their own affairs.

To

deal

with

this

the

Constitution

specified

exactly

what

power

the

central government had and which power was reserved for the states. The

states

were

allowed

to

run

their

own

governments

as

they

wished,

provided that their governments were republican.

4. What is the Executive Branch? P137

The chief executive is the president, who is elected to four-year term. A

president

can

be

elected

only

two

terms

according

to

an

amendment

passed

in

1951.

The

president

can

propose

legislation

to

Congress

and

veto

any

bill

passed

by

Congress.

He

is

the

commander

in

chief

of

the

armed

forces.

The

president

has

other

broad

authorities

in

running

the

government

department

and

handling

foreign

relations.

Except

for

the

right

of

success

ion

to

the

presidency,

the

vice

president’s

only

constitutional duties are to serve as the presiding officer of the senate; the

vice president may vote in the senate only in the event of a tie.

5. What is the Bill of Rights? Why is it necessary to write the Bill

of Rights explicitly into the US Constitution? P56

It’s another basic foundation in Americans’ constitution. It consists of 10

very short paragraphs which guarantee freedom and individual rights and

forbid

interference

with

lives

of

individuals

by

the

government.

Each

paragraph

is

an

amendment

to

the

original

Constitution.

In

the

Bill

of

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15

Rights, Americans are guarantee freedom of religion, of speech and of the

press.

They

have

the

right

to

assemble

in

public

places,

to

protest

government actions and

to demand change. They have the right to own

weapons if they wish.

Economy

1. What

is

the

current

economic

position

of

America

in

the

world?

◇

“superpower” in world affairs;

◇

dominant position of the dollar “Bretton Woods system”

＊

the US has the largest and the most technologically powerful economy

in

the

world,

with

a

per

capital

GDP

of

$$46,000.

(ranked

No.9

in

the

world)

＊

It is the only superpower in the world. With about 5% of the world’s

population, the US produces about 27% of the total world output. (ranked

No.1 in total amount in the world)

＊

the

US

firms

are

at

or

near

the

forefront

in

technological

advances,

especially

in

computers

and

in

medical,

aerospace,

nuclear

energy,

electronics and the military equipment.

＊

the US is still the largest automobile maker of the world. It is a major

buyer and the seller in the world market.

＊

the US dollar is still used as an international currency and many other

currencies are pegged to it.

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2. What are the five stages of industrial development? P65-67

One key development was the introduction of the factory system, which

gathered

many

workers

together

in

one

workplace

and

produced

goods

for distribution over a wide area.

A

second

development

was

the

“American

system”

of

mass

production

which originated in the firearms industry about 1800.

A third development was the application of new technologies to industrial

tasks.

A

forth

development

was

the

emergency

of

new

forms

of

business

organization, notably the bank and the corporation, which facilitated the

growth of industry.

Finally, the construction of railroads beginning in the 1830s, marked the

start of a new era for the United States

3. What are the roots of affluence in America? P69

1. The vast dimensions and ample natural resources of the United States

proved

from

the

first

to

be

a

major

advantage

for

national

economic

development.

2. A population of more than 310 million people provides both workers

and consumers for American businesses.

3. A mobility in the American population contributes a useful flexibility

to business life.

4. The entrepreneurial spirit finds its outlet in such business activities as

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