AMeEICKO DRUSTVO-Skripta-Engleski jezik i knjizevnost-Filologija, Rezime od Engleski jezik

Preuzmite AMeEICKO DRUSTVO-Skripta-Engleski jezik i knjizevnost-Filologija i više Rezime u PDF od Engleski jezik samo na Docsity! 1 1. Where and when did the British surrender during the War of Independence? At Yorktown on October 19, 1781. Cornwallis withdrew to Yorktown waiting for reinforcement, but Washington came from New York and de Grasse led the French fleet form the Caribbean and Cornwallis was trapped. 2. When did the first Congress convene? In Philadelphia at Carpenter's Hall in 1774 = FIRST CONTINENTAL CONGRESS. There were 55 delegates, only Georgia didn't send its delegate. Tasks: to define constitutional relationship with Great Britain, define grievances, develop plan for the resistance. . Like the Stamp Act Congress, which was formed by colonials to respond to the unpopular Stamp Act, the First Continental Congress was formed largely in response to the so-called Intolerable Acts. The Congress was planned through the permanent committees of correspondence, which kept the local colonial governments in communication with one another as their common opposition to Britain grew. They chose the meeting place to be Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, which was both centrally located and one of the leading cities in the colonies. Although often referred to as America's first parliament, this body essentially consisted of self-appointed radicals, with only the delegates from South Carolina being fairly elected. 3. The name of Thomas Paine's best-selling book Common Sense – written in January 1776, calling for independence, advocated the establishment of the republic, using enraged tone, everyday English, relying on the Bible. 120,000 copies sold in the first 3 months. 4. Which architectural style did Jefferson favor for the American capital? He advised to copy the Roman building Maison Carée at Nîmes, favoured simplicity of line, harmonious proportions, feeling of grandeur. 5. Where did the Trail of Tears begin, where did it end, how long was it? It began in Georgia in 1838 – President Martin Van Buren sent federal troops to evict 20,000 (1/4 died) Cherokees from Georgia to the Indian Territory (present-day Oklahoma). It ended in 1839. Prior: in the 1820s Cherokees refused to sell the land to Georgia, Georgia seized the land and Cherokees sued: Marshall: 1831: Cherokee Nation v. Georgia - Cherokee isn’t a foreign nation nor a state but has a right to its land 1832: Worchester v. Georgia – Cherokee is a distinct political community and Georgia’s laws have no force on it, But Georgia wouldn’t comply and President Andrew Jackson was for the removal too – 1835: Treaty of New Echota – minority exchanged their land for the western land, but the majority wanted to stay and John Ross lobbied for them in the Senate but lost and Van Buren ordered removal. 6. Discuss briefly Andrew Jackson's presidency (1829 – 1837) He beat John Quincy Adams at the 1828 elections. He was a member of the Democratic Party, against Washington's politics, against strong central government, feared the concentration of economic and political power, opposed reforms which wanted a more active government, for the removal of Native Americans, used veto more than any other president. He strengthened the executive branch of the government, relied on political friends and created the «Kitchen Cabinet» for advice, rarely consulted the official Cabinet, used patronage to strengthen his party and loyalty, but he also returned the government to majority rule. 7. Name one of the first feminists! Judith Sargent Murray – theorist of women's education, and Abigail Adams. 8. Jay's Treaty! It was ratified by the Senate in 1795. Chief Justice John Jay went to Great Britain to negotiate on three matters: 1. ships seized by Great Britain in French West Indies – wanted to restore the policy of open waters so that the U.S. as a neutral country can trade with both France and Great Britain 2. the British didn't evacuate ships from the American Northwest 3. commercial treaty to compensate for the slaves who left with the British army after the War of Independence. Jay didn't manage to solve the third problem which caused great opposition to the Treaty in the South. But Thomas Pinckney signed a treaty with Spain giving privileges on the Mississippi River which helped overcome the opposition to the Jay Treaty. 9. Where and when was the Woman's Rights Convention? In July 1848 at Seneca Falls, New York, organized by Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Lucretia Mott, Lucy Stone. 30 people were present demanding political, social and economic equality for women in the Declaration of Sentiments. 10. When and how was Texas annexed? Before leaving the office Tyler annexed Texas. It was annexed in 1845 by a joint resolution of Congress because it required the majority in both houses. The usual method of annexing new territories was by a treaty but this required 2/3 majority in Senate which the expansionists didn't have. 11. Who were the Whigs? Members of the Whig Party which was established in 1834 to oppose the Democrats. It broke up in the 1850s and many of its members joined the new Republican Party. They were opponents of the Democrats and the remnants of the National Republican Party. The political competition between the Whigs and Democrats is known as second party system. (first party system – Democratic-Republicans and Federalists). They were for economic expansion, activist government, corporate charters, abolition of capital punishment. They were supported by evangelical Protestants, Methodists, Baptists and free black voters. 12. How many slaves joined the Union Army? 134,000 slaves + 52,000 free African Americans. 13. When and where did the Confederate Army surrender during the Civil War? Lee surrendered on April 9, 1865 at Appomattox Court House. Extra: He abandoned Richmond and Petersburg on April 2, 1865. After he surrendered Davis wanted to 2 continue the war. Davis fled Richmond, but was captured in Georgia. 14. What happened near the Little Big Horn River and when? In June 1876 2,500 Lakotas led by Chiefs Rain-in-the-Face, Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse surrounded and annihilated 256 government troops led by Colonel George A. Custer near the Little Big Horn River. The Indian resistance was overwhelmed because of the shortage of supplies and relentless pursuit of U.S. soldiers. 15. Name all assassinated presidents of the U.S.! A) Abraham Lincoln: shot on April 14, 1865 in the Ford's Theatre in Washington by John Wilkes Booth, died the next day, Booth caught after 12 days. B) James Abram Garfield: Shot in July 1881 by Charles Griteau, died on September 19 C) William McKinley: September 1901, by anarchist Leon Czolgosz D) John F. Kennedy: in Dallas, on November 22, 1963 by Lee Harvey Oswald 16. What were the consequences of the Dawes Severalty Act? Congress passed it in 1887. It authorized dissolution of community-owned Indian property and granted land allotments to individual Native American families, which they could sell after 25 years. It also entitled the government to sell unallocated land to whites. The whites expected the Native Americans to adopt the American institution of private property and the American idea of a family and thus integrate into the larger society. But in reality the Act only reduced native control over land – many were duped into selling the land and were left with nothing. 17. When did Puerto Rico become U.S. possession? In 1898 in the Treaty of Paris (signed in 1898, ratified by Congress in 1899) which ended the war between US and Spain. Puerto Ricans became US citizens in 1917. 18. Who wrote The Jungle and what was it about? Written by Upton Sinclair: about terrible conditions in the Chicago meat industry and it resulted in new laws being passed. 19. Who played the main role in the first sound movie? Al Jolson in the movie The Jazz Singer, made in 1927 by Warner Brothers. He sang six songs. Only 354 words are spoken in the film. The most famous words from the film are: «You ain't heard nothing yet». 20. Name three major movies about the Vietnam War! Coming Home (1978), The Deer Hunter (1978), Apocalypse Now (1979), Platoon (1986). Extra: novels: Philip Caputo: A Rumor of War (1977), James Webb: Fields of Fire (1978) 21. What was the War Powers Resolution and when was it enacted? It was passed by Congress in 1973 to end U.S. participation in undeclared wars. It mandated that the president must consult with the Congress before sending American troops into foreign wars. 22. Who were the WACS? Women's Army Corps – 140,000 Extra: WAVES – Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service – 100,000 WASP – Women Air Service Pilots –teaching basic flying, towing aerial targets for gunnery practice, ferrying planes across the country, serving as test pilots. 23. What is fragging? Murder of officers by enlisted men, usually using hand grenades. It took at least thousand lives between 1969 and 1972. It appeared as the morale in the U.S. armed forces in the Vietnam War sagged and discipline lapsed. 24. Who designed the Guggenheim Museum? It's a museum of modern art in New York, built with money given by Solomon R. Guggenheim. It was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright and opened in 1959. Because of its unusual circular structure it's also called the «giant snail». 25. Who was Nat Turner? Nat Turner was a famous African American rebel. He became a preacher and in 1831 led a band of rebels in Southampton County, Virginia. They killed 60 whites before the rebellion was put down. As revenge the whites killed about 200 African Americans at random. Nat was caught and in prison interviewed by Thomas R. Gray and the result was the Confession of Nat Turner. Nat and 15 of his companions were hanged. 26. Who was doctor Alfred Kinsey? Director of the Institute for Sex Research at Indiana University. In 1948 he published his pioneering study Sexual Behavior in the Human Male and in 1953 Sexual Behavior in the Human Female causing uproar. 27. Who were Sacco and Vanzetti? Still under the influence of the Red Scare of 1919 Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti were in 1921 convicted of murdering a guard and a paymaster during a robbery in South Braintree, Massachusetts. The evidence failed to prove their guilt, but their political beliefs (anarchists) and origin (Italian immigrants) didn't. 28. What was the Harlem Renaissance and who were the main protagonists? A movement in African-American culture in the 1920s which began in the New York district of Harlem. Its main protagonists were middle class, well educated, and proud of their African heritage. They rejected the white culture and exalted the militantly assertive «New Negro». Poets: Langston Hughes, Countee Cullen, Claude McKay, Novelist Jean Toomer, Essayist Alain Locke, Visual artists: Aaron Douglas, James A. Porter, Augusta Savage 5 58. What were sit-ins? Peaceful protest of African Americans against segregation in public facilities. They would sit in segregated buses, restaurants in the section reserved for whites and refuse to move. The first sit-in was in February 1960 when four black students in Greensboro, North Carolina ordered coffee and were not served and were told to leave but didn't. 59. What are fringe benefits? An employee's benefit supplementing a money or wage salary like provision that employers bear the cost of establishing union pension funds and of insuring workers against various contingencies, free meals, subsidized medical treatments, education and training, shares of profit and options to buy company stocks at bargain price. 60. When and how was Alaska acquired? In 1867 William H. Steward paid Russia $7.2 million for 591 000 square miles of Alaska-land twice the size of Texas. It was called «Steward's Icebox». 61. What is Heartbreak Hotel? One of the first songs of Elvis Presley. His first single. 62. What is busing? Transporting children to schools outside their neighbourhoods to achieve racial integration. 63. Who were muckrakers? A group of journalists who voiced the views of middle-class reformers. Roosevelt called them muckrakers because of their style of writing – they were looking for scandal. Muckraking style was epitomized by Lincoln Steffen in his article published in McClure's in 1904. Other muckrakers: Upton Sinclair: The Jungle, 1906, David Graham Phillips: The Treason of the Senate, 1906, Burton J. Hendrick: Story of Life Insurance, 1907 64. Who was Marcus Garvey? In the 1920s he headed the Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA). He was a Jamaican immigrant and believed blacks should separate themselves from the corrupt white society and cultivated racial pride with mass meetings and parades. He promoted black-owned business and in his newspaper Negro World refused to publish ads suggesting blacks should try and be like whites or be ashamed of their heritage. 65. What is The Birth of a Nation? A movie directed in 1915 by D.W.Griffith about the Civil war and Reconstruction. NAACP protested against it. 66. Why is yellow journalism called yellow? The name comes from the Yellow Kid comic strip which began in the New York World in 1895 and used yellow ink to attract readers attention. It was established by Joseph Pulitzer. In 1883 he bought the New York World and turned journalism into mass culture. His journalists were looking for exciting and sensational news. Nellie Bly (Elizabeth Cochrane) did an article about the conditions in asylums. In 1895 William Rudolph Hearst bought the New York Journal. 67. Who wrote Uncle Tom's Cabin and when? Harriet Beecher Stowe, serialized in 1851, published as a book in 1852. 68. What were Hoovervilles? Shantytowns created by the homeless in the hard times of the late 1920s and early 1930s during Hoover’s presidency. 69. Who wrote the Affluent Society and what was it main thesis? John Kenneth Galbraith. The book sought to clearly outline the manner in which the post-World War II America was becoming wealthy in the private sector but remained poor in the public sector, lacking social and physical infrastructure, and perpetuating income disparities. 70. Who or what was Tom Thumb? Peter Cooper’s locomotive – first to go along 13 miles of Baltimore and Ohio Railroad track in 1830, thus starting the railroad era. 71. George Washington 1789 – 1797 72. Thomas Jefferson 1801-1809 73. What is the Sunbelt? Southern and south-western states from Virginia to California. Their political and economic power has grown since the 1960s when people started moving there from Snow Belt and Rust Belt to the warmer climate and better job opportunities. 74. When did Nixon resign and who succeeded him? He resigned in1974 and was succeeded by Gerald Rudolph Ford (74-77) – both Republicans. 75. Whose election motto was “I will never lie to you”? Jimmy Carter’s 76. When did F.D. Roosevelt die and who succeeded him? He died on April 12, 1945 and Harry S. Truman succeeded him (45-53) – both Republicans. 77. What and when was the Mann Act? 6 1910 - White Slave Traffic Act or Mann Act prohibited interstate or international transportation of women for immoral purposes. By 1915 most states outlawed Brothels and solicitation of sex. 78. Who were the Immediatists? Young evangelicals active in benevolent societies in the 1820s. They believed slavery was a sin and wanted to abolish it and change the institutions that harboured or fostered it. They were unwilling to compromise or accept gradual emancipation. 79. Who comprised loyalist during the Revolution? 1/5 were loyal to Britain – Anglican clergy, merchants, tenant farmers, ethnic minorities, esp. Scots, persecuted religious sects. 80. Who comprised patriots during the Revolution? 2/5: Protestant sects, elected officeholders, urban artisans, merchants dealing with American products. 81. When was the Gold Rush? Gold was discovered in 1848, Gold Rush was in 1849 - 40,000 people came to Californian and were called forty-niners. 82. When did the Korean War start? In June 1950. 83. What is the Rustbelt? Informal name for the Middle West and northeastern states because many of the large factories in this area are old and closed. Some older industries such as steel, which once flourished in that area, have now almost gone and many workers have moved to the Sunbelt. 84. When was the telegraph first used? Between Washington and Baltimore in 1844. It was invented by Samuel F. B. Morse. 85. What were the Palmer Raids? Operation planned and directed at the climax of the Red Scare in January 1920 by J.E.Hoover. Government agents in 33 cities broke into meeting halls and homes without search warrant. Result: 4 000 people jailed of which most were released, but between 1920-1921 600 were deported because of suspicion they were communists. 86. What is the Monroe Doctrine? President Monroe presented it to the Congress in December, 1823. He called for noncolonization of the Western Hemisphere, nonintervention by Europe in the affairs of independent states and nonintervention of the US in the European affairs. It was welcomed at home. 87. When was the attack on Pearl Harbour in Hawai’i? In 1941 – 60 Japanese ships with a core of six carriers carrying 360 airplanes. 88. How many Americans died in Vietnam? More than 58,000 Americans and 1.5 million Vietnamese people. 89. What is the ERA and what did it stipulate? Equal Rights Amendment – stipulated to give women equal rights with men. The proposal began in Congress in 1923 and was passed in 1972. A total of 38 of 50 states had to give approval by 1982 for it to become a law, but only 35 did, so it failed. 90. Who was Handsome Lake? A Seneca who claimed that he had experienced a series of visions in spring 1799 influenced by Quakers’ lessons. He preached that Indian peoples should denounce alcohol, gambling and other destructive European customs. He directed his followers to reorient men’s and women’s work assignments as the Quakers advocated, but aimed above all to preserve Iroquois culture by doing so. Since they could no longer hunt for meat, sexual division of labour would enable them to retain autonomous existence. 91. When was M. L. King assassinated? In April 1968 in Memphis by James Earl Ray. 92. What was the Baruch Plan? Its author was financier Bernard Baruch and Truman backed it in 1946. The proposal provided for US abandonment of its atomic monopoly only after the world’s fissionable materials were brought under the authority of an international agency. The Soviets responded that it meant that they would have to shut down their atomic bomb development project while the US could continue its own. Washington and Moscow were locked in an expensive nuclear arms race. 93. When and where did the Civil War start and by whom? In 1861 at Fort Sumter in Charleston harbour in South Carolina by the Confederation. Lincoln notified them that he was sending a ship to resupply federal garrison there. After the meeting of the Confederate cabinet the Secretary of war ordered local commanders to obtain surrender or attack the fort. They attacked and after two days of heavy bombing the federal garrison surrendered. 94. Who was Sinclair Lewis? /Who and what was the Lost Generation? Writer of the so-called Lost Generation in the 1920s. Others were E. Hemingway, Gertrude Stein, poet Ezra Pound and T.S. Eliot - they left the US for Europe. Some like Faulkner and Sinclair remained in the US. They expressed disillusionment with materialism and hypocrisy Sinclair: Babbitt, Arrowsmith, Elmer Gantry Hemingway: Farewell to Arms; F.S. Fitzgerald: This Side of Paradise, The Great Gatsby; Edith Wharton: The Age of Innocence. 7 95. What is Manifest destiny? Tenet holding that the expansion of the U.S. is inevitable and divinely ordained. The phrase was first used by journalist and diplomat John Louis O’Sullivan in an editorial supporting the annexation of Texas in a 1845 edition of the United States Magazine and Democratic Review. The phrase was later used by expansionists to justify the acquisition of California, the Oregon Territory and Alaska and later of various islands in the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean. 96. What does the SDS stand for and what is it? Students for a Democratic Society – an extreme US student political organization in the 1960s which opposed the Vietnam War. It spread to many universities and colleges and its members held street protests which led to violence outside the Democratic National Convention in Chicago in 1968. In 1967 it was divided into smaller groups. 97. What was Rudolph Valentino's most famous movie? The Sheik 98. What and when was the Indian Reorganization Act? Also called Wheeler-Howard Act, 1934 – to reverse the increasing landlessness of Native Americans by restoring land to tribal ownership and forbidding future division of Indian lands into individual parcels. Other provisions of the act – it enabled tribes to obtain loans for economic development and to establish self-government. 99. The name of Pocahontas tribe: Powhatan. 100. Name three major 20th-century American painters! Georgia O'Keefe, John Marin, Jason Pollock, Andrew Wyeth, Edward Hopper, Charles Sheeler 101. Who wrote The Star-Spangled Banner? Francis Scott Key – he was detained on a British ship during the battle in the War of Independence in Baltimore. It became the national anthem in 1931. 102. Which is the oldest university and when and where was it founded? Harvard, founded in 1636 in Cambridge, Massachusetts. 103. When did women get the right to vote? The suffrage movement became important in the US in the second half of the 19th century. The issue was first discussed at Seneca Falls in 1848. In 1920 the 19th Amendment gave women the right to vote. The 19th Amendment is also known as the Anthony Amendment after Susan B. Anthony who was an important suffragist. 104. Who was the «rebel without a cause»? James Dean. 105. Name five American playwrights! Arthur Miller (Death of a Salesman, The Crucible), Eugene O'Neil (Long Day’s Journey into the Night), David Mamet (Oleanna, Glengarry Glenn Ross), Sam Shepard (True West), Tennessee Williams (A Streetcar Named Desire). 106. In which state did the Mormons finally settle? Great Salt Lake valley. 107. Who was called the trust-buster? Theodore Roosevelt. He asked Congress to curb the power of trusts "within reasonable limits." They did not act but Roosevelt did, issuing 44 lawsuits against major corporations; he was called the ‘trust-buster’. He was given that name because of the many trusts he dissolved during his two terms as President. 108. Who was the first American to get the Nobel Prize for literature? Name 5 American writers who got the Nobel Prize for literature! First: Sinclair Lewis in 1930. Others: Eugene O’Neill in 1936, T.S. Eliot in 1948, William Faulkner in 1949, John Steinbeck in 1962, Ernest Hemingway in 1954, Toni Morrison in 1993. 109. Who leaked the Pentagon Papers and what happened to him? Daniel Ellesberg, he had to go underground with his wife, later he surrendered and eventually faced indictment ot 12 felony charges. Nixon wanted to silence Ellesberg who even when underground kept giving The New York Times Pentagon Papers and he even organized an assassination attempt. When this was exposed charges against Ellesberg were dismissed. 110. Who were the Wobblies? Members of the trade union IWW (Industrial Workers of the World). IWW was established in 1905 in Chicago. Its leaders called for a workers' revolution. Its violent strikes during the WW1 were considered to be against the country's war effort and the leaders were put into prison and the IWW soon ended. 111. When did Charles Lindberg fly across the Atlantic? He started his trip on May 20, 1927. He flew for 33 hours in his craft The Spirit of St. Louis and landed in Paris. 112. What is Medicare? US government’s program for everyone over the age of 65. It began in 1965 and is a part of Social Security System. It pays part of the cost of hospitals and offers additional medical insurance to people who pay an amount every month. 113. What is Medicaid? US government’s medical program for people under the age of 65 who have low incomes. It helps 10 In 1925 Tennessee passed legislation prohibiting teaching evolutionism in schools. Scopes volunteered to serve in the test trial and was arrested for breaking the law. He was convicted but it was actually a victory of modernism over Christian fundamentalism. Clarence Darrow represented the defense and made a fool out of William Jennings Bryan when he took the witness stand as an expert on religion and science and said that he is ready to accept the miracle even if he couldn’t explain it. Bryan argued for the prosecution. He was a former Secretary of state and three-time presidential candidate. 149. What is the NAACP? National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. It was formed in 1909 and it supports the rights of African Americans. Its major achievement was to bring a legal case which in 1954 led to the US Supreme Court decision against segregation in schools. 150. When was the “hostage crisis” and how was it resolved? In 1979 Iranian students took 66 Americans from the US Embassy in Teheran and held them hostage for 14 months. They wanted the former Shah of Iran to be sent back from the US for trial. Carter ordered a rescue mission in April 1980 which failed and cost Carter the next election to Ronald Reagan. Hostages were released on January 20, 1981, the day Reagan became president. 151. What was the Bonus Expeditionary Force? In 1924 Congress promised the WWI veterans $2.4 billion in bonuses due for payment in 20 years. In 1932 Congress was considering the bill for immediate payment of bonuses and veterans and their families, calling themselves BEF, gathered in Washington to lobby for the bill. When the Senate rejected the bill, most of the veterans returned home, but some stayed and wanted to talk with Hoover. Hoover refused. In July MacArthur, Douglas and Eisenhower confronted the veterans with cavalry and tanks. The public was shocked and this got Roosevelt elected. 152. What and when was the U-2 incident? In May 1960 a US U-2 spy plane was shot over the USSR. The Russian leader Nikita Khrushchev ended the meeting in Paris with president Eisenhower 11 days later when Eisenhower refused to apologize. At the beginning Eisenhower even denied that the plane was American. 153. Who founded the Mormons? Joseph Smith in the 1820s. He said angel Moroni had visited him and gave him engraved golden plates. He published his revelations in the “Book of Mormons”. In 1830 they organized a church in New York, the next year they went to Ohio, but mobs drove them to Missouri. They finally settled in Salt Lake Valley and established Salt Lake City and organized a “community of saints”. They had strict moral codes (no alcohol or coffee). They used irrigation system, in 1841 Smith introduced polygamy, but the Church stopped it in 1890. Smith and his brother were killed in 1844. 154. During whose presidency was the Social Security Bill introduced? Roosevelt. It became an Act in 1935. 155. What is SALT? Strategic Arms Limitation Talks: talks between the US and the Soviet Union to limit their nuclear weapons. SALTI was signed in 1972 by President Nixon and the Soviet leader Brezhnev. SALTII talks were in 1979 and President Carter and Brezhnev agreed to more limits but Senate didn’t approve the treaty because Soviet forces entered Afghanistan. 156. Who propagated inoculation as protection against smallpox? Cotton Mather, early 17th ct. 157. Who was Aaron Copland? Composer of modern classical music, much of which uses traditional folk songs. His best works are Billy the Kid, Appalachian Spring. For music in the movie The Heiress he got an Oscar. 158. Who settled Maryland? Founder: Cecilius Calvert (Christians) 159. What is SDI and what is the other name for it? Strategic Defense Initiative, popular name: Star Wars – Reagan’s plan to build defense in space against nuclear weapons. He announced it in 1983, but it was never built because of the expense and the end of the Cold War. It was cancelled in 1993. 160. What is Manhattan Project? The secret project to develop atomic bomb started in 1942. It involved a team of scientists led by Robert Oppenheimer first at Oak Ridge, Tennessee and then at Los Alamos, New Mexico where the first bomb was built and exploded on July 16, 1945. 161. The reason for the invasion of Panama in 1990? Because General Noriega who came to power in Panama in 1983 cut deals with Colombia’s cocaine barons. Bush first ignored it, but when protests started in Panama, he launched Operation Just Cause and in 1989 22,500 US troops invaded Panama. 162. What was the Non-Intercourse Act? In 1809 it reopened trade with all nations except Britain and France and it authorized the presidents to resume trade with Britain or France if either of them ceased to violate neutral rights. This Act lifted all embargoes on American shipping except for those bound for British or French ports. The intent was to damage the economies of the United Kingdom and France. Like its predecessor, the Embargo Act, it was mostly ineffective, and contributed to the coming of the War of 1812. In addition, it seriously damaged the economy of the United States due to a lack of markets for its goods. 163. What are the Freedom Rides? Groups of black and white people from northern US rode together on buses to the Deep South as a protest against segregation on public transport there. First freedom Rides were organized by the Congress of Racial Equality. Freedom riders were often attacked by angry crowds, but in November 1961 ICC (Interstate Commerce Commission) legally ended segregation on buses. 164. How and when did Theodore Roosevelt become president? McKinley was assassinated in 1901. 11 165. What is the Bay of Pigs? It is a bay on the coast of Cuba. In 1961 about 1500 Cuban exiles, supported by CIA, landed there in an attempt to end the rule of Fidel Castro. The attempt failed causing embarrassment to Kennedy and making Castro’s position stronger. 166. Who was Thurgood Marshall? The first African-American judge of the US Supreme Court. In 1954 he won the case before the Supreme Court which ended segregation in public schools. 167. Who was Oliver North / What was Irangate? / What was Iran-Contra affair? Irangate or Iran-Contra affair was a series of illegal actions by the US government officials under Reagan in 1985. The Officials in the National Security Council sold military weapons to Iran to help free US prisoners from Lebanon. The money received for these was given to the Contras – military groups who wanted to defeat the Sandinista government in Nicaragua. The US Congress had forbidden this kind of support. The deal was discovered in 1986. One of the people involved in it was Oliver North. He was a Marine officer and a member of the National Security Council and was charged with being involved in the affair but the case against him was dropped in 1991. Most Americans believed he was just obeying orders and was blamed for crimes committed by the politicians. 168. What is «appeasement» and in what context is it mentioned? The word was used to describe Neville Chamberlain’s policy of trying to remain on friendly terms with Hitler and Mussolini despite the aggressive actions, before the WWII. Chamberlain was the British prime minister and in 1938 he signed the Munich Agreement trying to avoid the war against Germany and Italy. The agreement allowed Germany to take control over the part of Czechoslovakia, but in 1939 Hitler took all of it and in September the WWII began. Chamberlain also said that Britain would defend Poland should Germany attack it, but was slow in doing so. 169. What was Bakke vs. University of California about? A white man Allan Bakke claimed he didn’t get the job because of his colour. In 1978 the US Supreme Court ruled that the employers had acted illegally because they didn’t offer him a job, but that employers had the right to consider somebody’s race when deciding whether to give them a job. In other words, the decision outlawed quotas, but upheld affirmative action. 170. When and during whose presidency did the US declare a state of war with Japan? Two days after Pearl Harbor - in 1941, when F.D. Roosevelt was the president. 171. Who was known for his «Fireside Chats» and what were they? A series of informal radio broadcasts that F.D. Roosevelt made on Sunday evenings in 1932 to explain his New Deal and the decisions of his government. He was the first president to use radio to talk directlyto the people. The first was broadcast on March 12 and Roosevelt announced that banks were safe again and they opened their doors the next day. 172. What was Jim Jones’ Peoples Temple ? A religious group whose full name is Peoples Temple of the Disciples of Christ and was led by Reverend Jim Jones. In 1977 they established Jonestown, an agricultural community in Guyana. After the US Congressman Leo Ryan and four people with him were murdered while visiting Jonestown in 1978, Jones ordered the members of his Community to kill themselves by drinking poison and he shot himself. 913 people died, including more than 240 children. 173. What were the consequences of Roe vs. Wade decision? 1973: the Supreme Court decision which made abortion legal. The judges said that a state must allow any woman, if she wishes, to have an abortion within the first three months after she becomes pregnant. 174. Who was Paul Revere? An artist who designed and made silver products and his illustration of Boston Massacre helped to encourage the American Revolution. He was one of the people involved in the Boston Tea Party. He is also a hero of the American Revolution and is remembered for his horse ride from Boston to Lexington to on April 19, 1975 to warn people that British armed forces had landed. His ride was described by Longfellow in poem Paul Revere’s Ride. 175. Who were the Beats? The beat generation – a group of young people in the 1950s and early 1960s, especially writers and artists who rejected social values of their time and tried to find different style of living and new forms of writing. They rejected materialistic world of middle class and suburbs, they rejected social niceties and literary conventions and openly showed their sexuality and consumption of drugs. Allen Ginsberg: poem Howl (1956), Jack Kerouac: On the Road (1957) 176. Discuss the Truman doctrine! Policy announced by Truman in 1947 in which he promised US financial and military help for Greece, Turkey and other countries threatened by communism. 177. What is the AFL? American Federation of Labor. It was one of the first federations of labor unions in the United States and was founded in Columbus, Ohio in 1886 by Samuel Gompers. 178. What was the American attitude towards the Holocaust during WWII? The US refused to relax immigration restrictions to help the Jews fleeing from the Nazis. In fact, since it was the period of Great Depression and because of anti-Semitism and concern over competition for scarce jobs, American immigration officials applied the rules so strictly – asking for documents fleeing Jews couldn’t possibly provide – that otherwise qualified refugees were kept out of the country. 179. Who was A. Mitchell Palmer? 12 He was Wilson’s attorney general. He was a Progressive reformer, Quaker and an ambitious politician. He appointed Hoover to head the Radical Division of the Department of Justice. Hoover compiled index cards with names of allegedly radical individuals and organizations and planned and directed the Palmer raids. Palmer saw to it that 249 alien radicals, including the anarchist Emma Goldman, were deported to Russia. 180. What is the Miranda Act? Reached in 1966 in a Supreme Court case. Court decided that people who are arrested for a crime must be informed of their rights under the US constitution. These are the rights to remain silent, and to have a lawyer. They also must be told that anything they say can be used against them in court. It is the result of Miranda v State of Arizona case. 181. Who was James Otis? An attorney from Massachusetts who wrote “The Rights of British Colonies Asserted and Proved” as a protest to the Stamp Act (1765). He believed the British Parliament can’t tax them because they are not represented in it. His compromise between British and American definition of representation in the Parliament to send American representatives to the British parliament was never taken seriously by either side. 182. What are Townshend Acts? They were proposed in 1766 by Charles Townshend who supported colonial taxation and proposed new duties on some products such as glass, paper and tea. The duties differed from Navigation Acts because they were applied on items imported from Britain to raise money for salaries of high officials in the colonies and it created American Board of Customs Commissioners and vice-admiralty court in Boston, Philadelphia and Charleston. 183. Who was Samuel Adams? He headed the Committee of Correspondence established in Boston in 1772 with a goal to publicize protest against British taxation by exchanging letters with other Massachusetts towns. It fought for the right to life, liberty and property. It was against taxation without representation, against British troops and custom officers in America. Its views were printed in a pamphlet which placed American rights before the loyalty to Britain. Adams stressed the importance of collective action and of including the interior into the protest against taxation. 184. What Was “Louisiana Purchase”? Napoleon acquired Louisiana Territory in 1802. James Monroe joined American minister in Paris Livingston and they started negotiations to buy Louisiana Territory. Agreement known as Louisiana Purchase was struck on April 30, 1803. It cost $15c million. 185. Who was Anne Hutchinson? She was a medical practitioner in the first half of the 17th century who admired John Colton and held women meetings. She stressed the covenant of grace. Puritans saw here as a threat to their religious orthodoxy and to traditional gender roles and put her on trial. She was acquitted only because she claimed on the trial that God has spoken to her. She was exiled to Rhode Island together with her family and her followers. Later she moved to New Netherlands and was killed by Indians. 186. How did Pennsylvania get its name and who sere the first settlers? In 1681 Charles II gave the land between New York and Maryland to William Penn who was a Quaker (Society of Friends – founded by George Fox in the 17th ct.). The colony was named after him and was settled by Quakers. Penn gave land grants, offered religious tolerance (but only Christians could vote), treated Indians fairly. 187. What is Jimmy Carter’s main peace related accomplishment? In 1979 he arranged for the Camp David peace agreement between Egypt and Israel. 188. Name some of Benjamin Franklin’s accomplishments! One of the Founding Fathers, a politician, writer, printer, scientists. He helped to write the Declaration of Independence. In 1786 he went to France and persuaded it to send money and military help for the American Revolution. In 1788 America and Britain signed two treaties: the Treaty of Amity and Commerce and the Treaty of Alliance. - one of the most prominent of the Founders and early political figures and statesmen of the United States. He became a national hero in America when he convinced Parliament to repeal the unpopular Stamp Act. A diplomatic genius, Franklin was almost universally admired among the French as American minister to Paris, and was a major figure in the development of positive Franco-American relations. From 1775 to 1776, Franklin was Postmaster General under the Continental Congress and from 1785 to his death in 1790 was President of the Supreme Executive Council of Pennsylvania. 189. Who wrote Poor Richard's Almanac? Benjamin Franklin under the name of Richard Sanders. It contained the typical calendar, weather, poems, and astronomical and astrological information that an almanac of the period contained. It is chiefly remembered, however, for being a repository of Franklin's aphorisms and proverbs, many of which live on in American English. 190. Who introduced the Great Society program and what did it entail? President Lyndon Johnson in 1964. The aim of this social and economic program was to create a society where all Americans were equal, there was no poverty. As a part of the program Medicare, Medicaid medical programs, Head Start educational program and Department of Housing and Urban Development were established. It also passed the Voting Rights Act. 191. What was the Operation Desert Storm? Military operation in which international armed forces, including US troops attacked Iraq in the Gulf War. It began in 1991 and lasted 100 days. The 1991 Gulf War (also called the Persian Gulf War or Operation Desert Storm) was a conflict between Iraq and a coalition force of approximately 30 nations[1] led by the United States and mandated by the United Nations in order to liberate Kuwait. 192. The Gulf War! War between Iraq and the United Nations Security Forces in 1991. It started after Saddam Hussein illegally invaded Kuwait in August 1990 and refused to take his soldiers out of Kuwait. The Iraqi army was eventually forced out of Kuwait, but they set fire to many Kuwait oil wells. 15 In 1952 the US detonated the first hydrogen bomb. In early 1954 the largest bomb (packing the power of 15 million tons) the US has ever tested destroyed the Pacific Island of Bikini. 227. Who was Susan B. Anthony? She was a teacher and a leader of the campaign for women’s right to vote. In 1869 she and Elizabeth Cady Stanton established the National Woman Suffrage Association. In 1888 she organized International Council of Women and was the President of the National American Woman Suffrage Association from 1892 to 1900. Her image is on the Anthony dollar (1979-1981). 228. Who was Joseph (Joe) McCarthy? A senator from Wisconsin who led the campaign against Communism in the US society and government in the 1950s, during the Cold War. Many important and well-known people were accused of being Communists or sympathetic to Communism, often without evidence, and were forced to answer questions from the Senate Permanent Investigation Subcommittee led by McCarthy. People were also encouraged to give information about their friends and about people they worked with. Many were forced from their jobs or blacklisted (prevented from getting jobs in the future). McCarthyism: extreme opposition to Communism and a campaign against people suspected of being Communists. More generally used to mean the practice of investigating and accusing people who were thought to oppose the government without sufficient evidence. 229. Discuss the main features of the New Deal! The New Deal is the name given to the series of programmes implemented between 1933-37 under President Franklin D. Roosevelt with the goal of relief, recovery and reform of the United States economy during the Great Depression. Historians distinguish the "First New Deal" of 1933 that had something for almost every group, and the "Second New Deal" (1935-37) that introduced an element of class conflict. The opponents of the New Deal, complaining of the cost and the shift of power to Washington, stopped its expansion after 1937, and abolished many of its programs by 1943. The main programs still important today are Social Security and the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), as well as the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA). The New Deal had three components: direct relief, economic recovery, and financial reform; this was also called the 'Three Rs'. 230. Who were “the best and the brightest”? Young intellectuals Kennedy appointed. They were called so by writer David Halberstam: the Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara, Special assistant for national security affairs McGeorge Bundyattorney, General Robert Kennedy. 231. When was Washington burnt and by whom? In 1814 by the British – it was only a diversion, the major battle was in September in Baltimore (The Star-Spangled Banner). 232. Who were the Everly brothers? Don and Phil Everly. They sang together and were popular in the 1950s and 1960s through songs that combined country music and rock and roll, such as Bye Bye Love, Wake Up Little Susie. 233. What and when was the Fugitive Slave Act? Passed in 1850 as the part of the 1850 Compromise. It gave protection to slavery by empowering slaveholders to go to court to prove their slave had escaped (free blacks could be sent to slavery because fugitives were hunted down on the basis of physical description without establishing their slave status), slaves had no right to trial with jury, even in free states, it was illegal to hide a fugitive, even in free states people were obliged to return fugitives. 234. What was «bleeding Kansas»? a sequence of violent events involving Free-Staters (anti-slavery) and pro-slavery elements that took place in Kansas–Nebraska Territory and the western frontier towns of the U.S. state of Missouri between roughly 1854 and 1858. The Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854 created the territory and provided the cause of the ensuing guerrilla warfare. 235. What are French Fries? The first American to serve French fries was Thomas Jefferson. 236. Where and why was the invasion of Grenada? Since 1974 it has been an independent state and a member of Commonwealth. In 1983, after the Prime Minister had been killed, US troops invaded Grenada and overthrew leftist, pro-Cuban government. Americans set up a new government. 237. Cold War The conflict between capitalist countries of the west and communist countries of the East. Both sides (US and Soviet Union) had large military forces which were kept ready for war and they threatened each other with nuclear weapons. struggle that emerged after World War II between the global superpowers of the Soviet Union and the United States, supported by their military alliance partners. It lasted from about 1947 to the period leading to the dissolution of the Soviet Union on December 25, 1991. The global contest was popularly termed The Cold War because direct hostilities never occurred between the United States and the Soviet Union. The Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962 was the most important direct confrontation, together with a series of confrontations over the Berlin Blockade and the Berlin Wall. The major civil wars polarized along Cold War lines were the Greek Civil War, Korean War, Vietnam War and the Soviet-Afghan War, along with more peripheral conflicts in Angola, El Salvador, and Nicaragua.The greatest fear during the Cold War was the risk it would escalate into a full nuclear exchange with hundreds of millions killed. Both sides developed a deterrence policy that prevented problems from escalating beyond limited localities. Nuclear weapons were never used in the Cold War. 238. Woodstock! Rock music festival held in August 1969 near Bethel, New York, 60 miles SW of Woodstock (place originally planned for it). Tim Hardin, Joan Baez, Santana, Janis Joplin, Grateful Dead, The Who, Joe Cocker, Jimi Hendrix and Jefferson Airplane performed. It became a symbol of the new youth culture of the hippies. 239. What is the Panama Canal Treaty? 16 Two treaties were signed with Panama in 1977: one provided for the return of Panama Canal Zone to Panama in 200, the other guaranteed the US the right to defend the canal after that time. Senate endorsed both agreements in 1978. 240. Puritans Members of the English Protestant group of the 16th and 17th century. They believed in simple church ceremonies and strict moral behaviour. Came to the US after the restoration of king Charles II. 241. What was “nullification”? The legal theory that a U.S. State has the right to nullify, or invalidate, any federal law which that state has deemed unconstitutional. It is now considered a discredited doctrine with no legal basis under U.S. law. 242. Who was Eugene V. Debs? President of the American Railway Union, leading spokesman for American socialism; an American labor and political leader, one of the founders of the international labor union the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) and five-time Socialist Party of America candidate for President of the United States. 243. Martin Luther King! The most important leader of the civil rights movement. He was an African-American Baptist minister who led a series of peaceful campaigns against segregation. In 1957 he established the Southern Christian leadership Conference. In 1963 he led about 250 000 people on a protest march to Washington, DC, where he made his famous “I have a dream“ speech. He was awarded Nobel Prize for peace in 1964 and assassinated in 1968 by Earl Ray in Memphis, Tennessee. 244. START Strategic Arms Reduction Talks signed in 1991 by Bush and Gorbachev. START, officially the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty was a strategic arms limitation treaty between the United States and the Soviet Union. The treaty was initially proposed by United States President Ronald Reagan. It was retroactively named START I when the second START treaty, START II began to be discussed and later went into effect.It was signed on July 31, 1991, five months before the collapse of the Soviet Union. The treaty placed limits on the number of various types of vehicles and attributed warheads that could be deployed by either side. 245. What was the Zimmerman telegram? In 1917 the British intercepted and gave the Americans message sent from German Foreign Secretary Arthur Zimmermann to the German minister in Mexico. The message said: If Mexico joined military alliance against the US, Germany would help Mexico recover the territories it had lost in 1848, including several western states. Mexico refused, but Americans took the message seriously. 246. Who was Douglas McKay? Interior Secretary during Eisenhower’s presidency. He called Ike’s philosophy dynamic conservatism: conservative when it comes to money, liberal when it comes to human beings. Ike’s administration was that representing business and industry. 247. Who was J. Edgar Hoover? He developed FBI into a successful and scientific national police organization and directed it for almost 50 years, from 1924 until his death. Recently it has been found that he kept illegal personal files on many people. 248. When was the transcontinental railroad finished? In 1862 an 1864 Congress chartered two corporations: Union Pacific railroad and central Pacific railroad to build transcontinental railroad connecting Omaha, Nebraska with Sacramento, California. It was finished in 1869 when the two corporations joined tracks in Utah. 249. Where and when did Tecumseh die? Prophet’s older brother who turned his religious movement into a political one. He sought to unify northern and southern Indians by preaching Indian resistance. He died in the Battle of the Thames in 1813. 250. Who was Prophet? He claimed to have died and been resurrected and he started preaching in the Ohio River valley. He urged Indians to return to the old ways and abandon white customs. He preached against alcohol intertribal battles and stressed harmony and respect for elders. 251. Why wasn’t Richard Nixon tried for the obstruction of justice? Ford pardoned him. Many people concluded that they had struck a deal. The term "Watergate" refers to a series of events, spanning from 1972 to 1974, that began with U.S. President Nixon's administration's abuse of power toward the goal of undermining the Democratic Party and the opposition to the Vietnam War. The events got their name from burglaries of the headquarters of the Democratic National Committee in the Watergate office complex in Washington, D.C.. Though Nixon had endured two years of mounting political embarrassments, the court-ordered release of the "smoking gun tape" about the burglaries in August 1974 brought with it the prospect of certain impeachment for Nixon, and he resigned only four days later on August 9. He was the first, and still only, U.S. president to resign from office. 252. Who were the contras? Counterrevolutionaries trained by the CIA to overthrow the Nicaraguan government in 1981. In 1984 Congress voted to stop US military aid to the contras, but Reagan secretly funnelled the money and in 1985 imposed economic embargo on Nicaragua. He also rejected opportunities for diplomacy. In 1990 under arrangements brokered by the Central American presidents the Sandinistas lost the national election to a US-funded party. 253. What was the Free Soil Party? 17 Formed by antislavery Whigs, antislavery Democrats and supporters of the liberal party. It appeared as the third party at the 1848 election. Slogan: “Free Soil, Free Speech, Free Labor, and Free Man”. By the next election it was absorbed by the Republican Party. 254. What was Lusitania? A British passenger ship that was attacked and sunk by a German submarine off the coast of Ireland in 1915, killing about 1 200 people, including 128 Americans. This event influenced later US decision to enter WWI against Germany. 255. What Colonial minister was famous for his “hell and brimstone” sermons? George Whitefield – an evangelical preacher who sparked the 1st Great Awakening attracting many admirers but also critics who labelled him as a money-grubbing charlatan. Historian Harry Stout termed him “the first modern celebrity”. 256. Who was Cyrus McCormick? Inventor and manufacturer. In 1831 he invented the first successful reaping machine and in 1847 built a factory for large-scale production of reapers. He introduced his reaper to Europe in 1851. He continued to improve the machine and patented many other inventions such as the twine binder, self-rake. 257. What is known as “the double burden” or “the Superwoman Squeeze”? Handling a full-time job and unpaid labour at home at the same time. This term and phenomenon appeared in the second half of the 20th century as more and more women had full-time jobs and tried to balance demands of family and career, while their husbands became “couch-potatoes. 258. Who were the Tappan brothers? Arthur Tappan was an American abolitionist. In 1807 he established a dry goods business in Portland. Arthur and his brother, Lewis Tappan, established a silk importing business in New York in 1826. After The Panic of 1837, which caused their silk business to go bankrupt, they started what became the first American commercial credit-rating service. In 1827, Arthur and Lewis founded the New York Journal of Commerce. 259. During whose presidency was the Panama Canal built? Completed by the US in 1914 during Wilson’s presidency. Connects Atlantic and Pacific Ocean, 82 km long. 260. What was the incident at Little Rock about and when? It happened in 1957 in Little Rock, Arkansas. Governor Fanbus intervened to halt a local plan for gradual desegregation of Little Rock’s Central High School by mobilizing the Arkansas National Guard to block the entry of black students. Presidents Eisenhower had to send federal troops to protect black students. This caused a lot of anger and violence among local people, and many public schools were closed just so as to avoid desegregation, that is mixing white children with African American children. This kind of sentiment was particularly strong in the South. 261. What was the domino theory and who invented it? It was Truman’s theory according to which 2 small, weak, neighbouring nations would fall to communism like a row of dominoes if they were not propped up by the US”. This theory is one of the pillars of his doctrine to help Greece and Turkey and other nations threatened by communism and thus eliminate any possible threats to the US. 262. Who were the “Talented Tenth”? In 1909 du Bois and his allies formed NAACP. Du Bois believed that a group of cultured, highly trained black intellectuals called the “Talented Tenth” would save the race by setting an example to the whites and uplifting other blacks. 263. Eisenhower Doctrine! 1957 - the US would interfere in the Middle East if any government threatened by a communist takeover asked for help (it stated the United States would use armed forces upon request in response to imminent or actual aggression to the United States. Furthermore, countries that took stances opposed to Communism would be given aid in various forms). 264. What was the Tonkin gulf incident? In 1964 the USS Maddox was on an intelligence-gathering patrol in the Gulf of Tonkin off the coast of North Vietnam. It came under attack and since unarmed sailed away. 2 days later it returned together with another destroyer and in bad weather sonar technicians wrongly reported they were being attacked and 2 destroyers began firing. Johnson announced that the US would retaliate the attack by bombing N. Vietnam. 265. Carter Doctrine! 1980 – the US would intervene, unilaterally and military if necessary should Soviet aggression threaten petroleum-rich Persian Gulf. The Carter Doctrine was a policy proclaimed by President of the United States Jimmy Carter in his State of the Union Address on 23 January 1980, which stated that the United States would use military force if necessary to defend its national interests in the Persian Gulf region. The doctrine was a response to the 1979 invasion of Afghanistan by the Soviet Union, and was intended to deter the Soviet Union—the Cold War adversary of the United States—from seeking hegemony in the Gulf. 266. Who is Andrew Wyeth? A 20th century painter. He combined illusionary and realistic styles in his paintings, using mostly scenes of Maine and Pennsylvania as his subject matters. 267. What was decided on the Second Continental Congress and when was it? 1775. Participants found they had to act as a government; Congress authorized the printing of money, established a committee to supervise relations with foreign countries, took steps to strengthen the militia, created the Continental Army with George Washington as the commander-in- chief. It formally recommended that individual colonies form their own governments. 268. How and when did the War of 1812 start? In June 1812 Britain reopened seas to American shipping, but before the word about the change in British policy crossed the Atlantic, Congress declared war. The War of 1812 (in Britain, the American War of 1812 to 1815), was fought between the United States and the British Empire 20 299. Who wrote The Armies of the Night and what is it about? Norman Mailer -The Armies of the Night (1968), a description of the march on the Pentagon to protest against the Vietnam War. Mailer received the National Book Award and shared a Pulitzer Prize for general non-fiction. 300. What and when was the Homestead Act? 1862 – Encouraged western settlement and offered cheap or free plots to those who'd like to live there. Settlers of the Plains received rectangular- shaped tracts of 160 acres. At most, four families could live near each other, but only if they congregated around a shared four-cornered boundary intersection. 301. Why was Utah the last continental state admitted to the US? Because of the constant problems with the Native Americans (1857) and because Mormons allowed polygamy. In 1882, Congress passed the Edwards Bill, disenfranchising polygamists and another act against polygamy in 1887. President Wilford Woodruff of the Mormon Church issued a manifesto declaring that the church no longer countenanced polygamy. The state was admitted to the Union in 1896. 302. Name one novel each by F. S. Fitzgerald, John Dos Passos and W. Faulkner. - F. S. Fitzgerald - The Great Gatsby (1925), a sensitive, satiric fable of the pursuit of success and the collapse of the American dream. - John Dos Passos - Midcentury (1961), a novel in which he returned to the kaleidoscopic technique of his earlier successes to depict a panoramic view of post-war America. - W. Faulkner - A Fable (1954), which won him a Pulitzer Prize in 1955 303. What was the Lend-Lease Act? 1941 – the US will give military and economic aid to nations at war with Germany, Italy and Japan. Enforced by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The law originally authorized an appropriation of $1 million. In addition to Great Britain, China, and the USSR, 35 other governments received lend-lease aid. 304. What were the Supreme Court's decisions in the Cherokee vs. Georgia case? - 1831: Cherokee Nation v. Georgia - Cherokee is not a foreign nation or a state but has a right to its land. They can lose it only voluntarily. - 1832: Worchester v. Georgia – Cherokee is a distinct political community and Georgia’s laws have no force on it. But Georgians wouldn’t comply and President Andrew Jackson was for the removal too. 305. What is the suffrage movement and when did it achieve its goal? Women's Suffrage, right of women to share on equal terms with men the political privileges and to vote in elections and referendums and to hold public office. Stanton and Anthony - In May 1869 the two feminist leaders created the independent National Woman Suffrage Association. Lucy Stone and Henry Ward Beecher - another suffragist faction – 1869 – founded the American Woman Suffrage Association. The American suffragist movement scored its climactic victory shortly after WWI. In 1919 Congress approved the 19th Amendment to the US Constitution – women got the right to vote (ratified in 1920). 306. What is the Tet (offensive) and when did it happen? 1968 (President Johnson) – during the Tet (Vietnamese New Year) Vietcong and North Vietnamese forces struck all across South Vietnam. The Tet offensive shocked Americans, and the public opinion changed. Johnson was disappointed and fed up because there was no way he could win in Vietnam. He dropped out of the presidential race. 307. The first woman ever to sit in Congress? Jeannette Rankin (elected 1916). 308. Name five out of Wilson's 14 points? Designed to establish the basis for a just and lasting peace following the victory of the Allies in WWI – 1918. (1) abolition of secret diplomacy by open covenants (2) freedom of the seas in peace and war, except as the seas may be closed in whole or part by internat. Action for enforcement of international covenants; (4) reduction of armaments consistent with public safety; (13) an independent Poland, with access to the sea; (14) creation of a general association of nations under specific covenants to give mutual guarantees of political independence and territorial integrity. 309. What is the principle of representation in the House of Representatives (the lower house)? - Proportional representation. - Representatives are elected by popular vote. - The Constitution provides that each state have at least one representative. - Today, 1 representative stands for about 500,000 inhabitants. The existence and authority of Congress are derived from Article I of the US Constitution, which opens: Section 1 - All legislative powers herein granted shall be vested in the Congress of the United States, which shall consist of a Senate and a House of Representatives. 310. What is the principle of representation in the Senate? The Senate (the upper house) - Composed of two senators from each state, elected for six-year terms. - Since 1913, however, when the 17th Amendment went into effect, senators have been elected by popular vote. - Each senator has one vote. - The presiding officer of the Senate is the US vice-president 21 311. Who was George Washington Carver? A botanist – an African American – who conducted exhaustive series of experiments with peanuts and developed several hundred industrial uses for peanuts, sweet potatoes, and soya beans and developed a new type of cotton. 312. What is Promontory Point? Montauk Point, promontory, southeastern New York State, the eastern tip of the southern peninsula of Long Island. It is the site of a stone lighthouse built in 1795 and has a United States Coast Guard lifesaving station. The point was named after the Montauk people who once lived here and is included in Montauk Point State Park. Montauk Point is part of a popular summer resort area. 313. Who was Henry Louis Mencken? American journalist, critic, and essayist (1880-1956). Mencken's most important piece of scholarship was The American Language (3 vols., 1919- 1948), which traced the development and established the importance of American English. 314. Name three Amendments in the Bill of Rights? Bill of Rights (United States), first ten amendments to the United States Constitution. 1. freedom of speech and the press, and the right of the people peaceably to assemble 2. militia necessary for the security of a free State, the freedom to keep and bear arms 6. the right to a public criminal trial by jury 15. the right of citizens of the US to vote shall not be denied by the US on account of race, colour, or previous condition of servitude 19. the right of citizens of the US to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the US on account of sex (1920) 315. Who was Jefferson Davis? President of the Confederate states during the Civil War. An advocate for slavery who at first opposed secession but when the State withdrew from the Union he resigned from Senate. After the war he was imprisoned for two years on account of treason, but got out on bail and was never tried. F A S T – A N S W E R Q U E S T I O N S 1. What was the Cuban missile crisis? The Cuban Missile Crisis refers to the tense confrontation between the Soviet Union and the United States regarding the Soviet deployment of nuclear missiles in Cuba. The period of greatest danger started on October 16, 1962, when U.S. reconnaissance was shown to U.S. President John F. Kennedy which revealed evidence for Soviet nuclear missile installations on the island, and lasted for 13 days until October 28, 1962, when Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev announced that the installations would be dismantled. The Cuban Missile Crisis is regarded as the one moment when the Cold War came closest to escalating into a nuclear war. 2. John Marshall John Marshall (September 24, 1755 – July 6, 1835) was an American statesman and jurist who greatly influenced American constitutional law. Marshall was the fourth Chief Justice of the United States, serving from February 4, 1801 until his death. He had previously served in a variety of political offices; most notably, he was a member of the United States House of Representatives from March 4, 1799 to June 7, 1800, and Secretary of State from June 6, 1800 to March 4, 1801. Marshall was a native of the state of Virginia and a member of the Federalist Party. 3. Who were Meriwether Lewis and William Clark? (x3) William Clark was a Scottish-American explorer who accompanied Meriwether Lewis on the Lewis and Clark Expedition. Meriwether Lewis was an American explorer, soldier, and public administrator, best known for his role as the leader of the Corps of Discovery. 4. Who wrote the ‘Leatherstocking Tales’? The Leatherstocking Tales is a series of novels by American writer James Fenimore Cooper, each featuring the hero Natty Bumppo, known by European settlers as "Leatherstocking," and by the Native Americans as "Pathfinder," "Deerslayer," or "Hawkeye.". 5. What were the causes of the 1812 British-American war? The United States had grievances against Great Britain for sovereignty violations in three areas: - Britain's refusal to surrender western forts promised to the United States in the 1783 Treaty of Paris, which ended the American War of Independence, together with allegations that Britain was arming North American Indians fighting against them on the western frontier; - The stopping of American ships by the Royal Navy on the high seas to search for alleged deserters, and the forced impressment of American and naturalized American citizens as British seamen and - The trade embargos by France and Britain during the Napoleonic Wars, which resulted in the seizing of hundreds of American merchant ships. In 1795, the Jay Treaty with Britain and the Treaty of Greenville with the North American Indians temporarily resolved the conflict on the Northwestern frontier; however, the Monroe-Pinkney Treaty of 1806 dealt only with trade, not impressment, and was not ratified by the United States Congress. Continuing embargoes and the Chesapeake-Leopard Affair of 1807 (which resulted in the deaths of three American seamen under attack by a British ship) further aggravated tensions between the two countries. However, in this incident, the captain far exceeded his orders and, as a result, the Royal Navy was much more careful about impressing Americans afterwards. Before war was declared, the Royal Navy had effectively ceased this practice. 6. Who was Dred Scott? (x2) 22 Dred Scott was a slave who sued unsuccessfully for his freedom in the famous Dred Scott v. Sandford case of 1857. His case was based on the fact that he and his wife Harriet had once lived while slaves, in states and territories where slavery was illegal, including Illinois and parts of the Louisiana Purchase. The court ruled 7 to 2 against Scott, stating that slaves were property, and the court would not deprive slave owners of their property without due process of law according to the Fifth Amendment. This case was one of the major factors leading to the American Civil War. 7. What were the Fourteen Points? Woodrow Wilson delivered a speech to Congress on January 8, 1918, outlining Fourteen Points for reconstructing a new Europe following World War I. While many of the points were specific, others were more general, including freedom of the seas, abolishing secret treaties, disarmament, restored sovereignty of some occupied lands, and the right of national self-determination of others. The speech, which was made without prior coordination or consultation with his counterparts in Europe, reached for the highest ideals, and was a precursor to the League of Nations (see point 14…. The League of Nations was an international organization founded after the Paris Peace Conference of 1919. The League's goals included disarmament; preventing war through collective security; settling disputes between countries through negotiation diplomacy; and improving global welfare.). However, history shows that despite the idealism, the post-war reconstruction of Europe adopted only a few of the points. 8. Who wrote ‘Babbitt’? Babbitt is a classic novel by the American novelist and playwright Sinclair Lewis, first published in 1922. It is a satire about American values, and its main theme is the power of conformity and the vacuity of American life. 9. What and when was the Sugar Act? Passed in 1764, the Sugar Act was an Act of the Parliament of Great Britain, a revision to the earlier Sugar and Molasses Act of 1733, which had imposed a tax of sixpence per gallon on molasses in order to make English products cheaper than those from the French West Indies. Colonists had largely evaded the earlier tax through the seduction of local officials. The Sugar Act, passed under the leadership of British Prime Minister Lord George Grenville, reduced the tax from sixpence to threepence, but provided for the tax to be strictly enforced and expanded its scope to include wine, cloth, and other goods. 10. What is the G. I Bill of Rights? In the United States, the Bill of Rights is the term for the first ten amendments to the United States Constitution. These amendments explicitly limit the Federal government's powers, protecting the rights of the people by preventing Congress from abridging freedom of speech, freedom of the press, freedom of assembly, freedom of religious worship, and the right to bear arms, preventing unreasonable search and seizure, cruel and unusual punishment, and self-incrimination, and guaranteeing due process of law and a speedy public trial with an impartial jury. In addition, the Bill of Rights states that "the enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people,"[1] and reserves all powers not specifically granted to the Federal government to the citizenry or States. These amendments came into effect on December 15, 1791, when ratified by three-fourths of the States. Initially drafted by James Madison in 1789, the Bill of Rights was written at a time when ideological conflict between Federalists and anti-Federalists, dating from the Philadelphia Convention in 1787, threatened the Constitution's ratification. The Bill was influenced by George Mason's 1776 Virginia Declaration of Rights, the 1689 English Bill of Rights, works of the Age of Enlightenment pertaining to natural rights, and earlier English political documents such as the Magna Carta (1215). The Bill was largely a response to the Constitution's influential opponents, including prominent Founding Fathers, who argued that it failed to protect the basic principles of human liberty. 11. When and where did the American army land in Europe during WWII? 12. What right is guranteed in the Second Amendment? Amendment II (the Second Amendment) of the United States Constitution, which is part of the Bill of Rights, declares the necessity for "a well regulated militia", and prohibits infringement of "the right of the people to keep and bear arms". 13. Who was William Lloyd Garrison? He was a prominent United States abolitionist, journalist and social reformer. He is best known as the editor of the radical abolitionist newspaper, The Liberator, and as one of the founders of the American Anti-Slavery Society. 14. Who was Squanto? (17th ct.) - one of two Native American 'Indians' (Samoset being the other) that assisted the Pilgrims during their first winter in the New World. He was a member of the Patuxet tribe, a subtribe of the Wampanoag Confederacy. The name Tisquantum, roughly meaning "Rage of the Manitou" in local dialect, was most likely not his given name and may have been adopted for his dealings with the Pilgrims. 15. Where was the invasion of Grenada? 16. What were the black codes? The Black Codes were laws passed on the state and local level in the United States to restrict the civil rights and civil liberties of African Americans, particularly former slaves. E s s a y Q u e s t i o n s 1. What were the consequences of the First Great Awakening? (x2) The First Great Awakening was a religious movement among American colonial Protestants in the 1730s and 1740s. It began with Jonathan Edwards, a Massachusetts preacher who sought to return to the Puritans' strict Calvinist roots but recognized the importance and power of immediate, personal religious experience. "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God" is perhaps his most famous sermon, but does not reflect the complexity of his thought as seen in his many sermons and essays. Edwards was a powerful speaker and attracted a large following. The English preacher George Whitefield continued the movement, traveling across the colonies and preaching in a dramatic and emotional style, accepting Christians as his audience. The new style of sermons and the way people practiced their faith breathed new life into religion in America. People became passionately and emotionally involved in their religion, rather than passively listening to intellectual discourse in a detached manner. People began to study the Bible at home, which effectively decentralized the means of informing the public on religious manners and was akin to 25  There was agreement that the priority was the unconditional surrender of Nazi Germany. After the war, the country would be split into four occupied zones, with a quadripartite occupation of Berlin as well.  Stalin agreed to let France get the fourth occupation zone in Germany and Austria, carved out from the British and American zones. France would also be granted a seat in the Allied Control Council.  Germany would undergo demilitarization and denazification.  Creation of an allied reparation council with its seat in Moscow.  The status of Poland was discussed but was complicated by the fact that Poland by this time was under the control of the red army. It was agreed to reorganize the Provisionary Polish Government that had been set up by the Red Army through the inclusion of other groups as the Polish Provisional Government of National Unity to be followed by democratic elections. (This effectively excluded the exile Polish government that had formed in London).  The Polish eastern border should basically follow the Curzon Line, and Poland should receive substantial territorial compensation in the west from Germany.  Citizens of the Soviet Union and of Yugoslavia were to be handed over to their respective countries, regardless of their consent.  Roosevelt obtained a commitment by Stalin to participate in the United Nations once it was agreed that each of the four permanent members of the Security Council would have veto power.  Stalin agreed to enter the fight against the Empire of Japan within 90 days after the defeat of Germany. The Soviet Union would receive the southern part of Sakhalin and the Kurile islands after the defeat of Japan. *** Headhunters *** The Imperial Japanese Navy made its ATTACK ON PEARL HARBOR on the morning of December 7, 1941. The surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, Oahu, Hawaii, was aimed at the Pacific Fleet of the United States Navy and its defending Army Air Forces and Marine air forces. The U.S. public saw the attack as a treacherous act and rallied against the Empire of Japan, causing the United States to enter World War II. The attack damaged or destroyed twelve American warships, destroyed 188 aircraft, and killed 2,403 American servicemen and 68 civilians. However, the Pacific Fleet's three aircraft carriers were not in port and so were undamaged, as were the base's vital oil tank farms, submarine pens, and machine shops. Using these resources the United States was able to rebound within a year. *** Jonathan Edwards (18th ct.)cwas a colonial American Congregational preacher and theologian. He is known as one of the greatest and most profound American evangelical theologians. His work is very broad in scope, but he is often associated with his defense of Calvinist theology and the Puritan heritage. *** The Wright Brothers, Orville Wright and Wilbur Wright are generally credited with the design and construction of a practical airplane, and making a controlled, powered, heavier-than-air flight, along with many other aviation milestones. Their accomplishments have been subject to many counter-claims by some people and nations.  Edison and Eastman George Eastman founded the Eastman Kodak Co. and invented roll film, which brought photography to the common man. The roll film was also the basis for the invention of the motion picture film, used by early filmmakers Thomas Edison, the Lumière Brothers and Georges Méliès. Thomas Alva Edison was an inventor and businessman who developed many devices which greatly influenced life in the 20th century. Dubbed "The Wizard of Menlo Park" by a newspaper reporter, he was one of the first inventors to apply the principles of mass production to the process of invention, and can therefore be credited with the creation of the first industrial research laboratory. Some of the inventions credited to him were not completely original, but alterations of earlier patents (most famously the light bulb), or were actually the work of his numerous employees. Nevertheless, Edison is considered one of the most prolific inventors in history, holding 1,093 U.S. patents in his name, as well as many patents in the United Kingdom, France, and Germany  Huey Long Huey Pierce Long was an American politician from the U.S. state of Louisiana. A Democrat, he was noted for his radical populist policies. He served as governor of Louisiana from 1928 to 1932 and as a U.S. Senator from 1932 to 1935. Though a backer of Franklin D. Roosevelt in the 1932 presidential election, Long split with Roosevelt in June 1933 and planned to mount his own presidential bid.  William Jennings Bryan William Jennings Bryan was an American lawyer, statesman, and politician. He was a three-time Democratic Party nominee for President of the United States. Bryan was a devout Presbyterian, a strong proponent of popular democracy, an outspoken critic of banks and railroads, a 26 leader of the silverite movement in the 1890s, a dominant figure in the Democratic Party, a peace advocate, a prohibitionist, an opponent of Darwinism, and one of the most prominent leaders of the Progressive Movement. He was called "The Great Commoner" because of his total faith in the goodness and rightness of the common people.  Newt Gingrich - an American politician who is best known as the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 1995 to 1999. In 1995 he was named Time Magazine's Man of the Year for his role in leading the Republican Revolution in Congress, ending 40 straight years of Democratic majorities in the House. During his tenure as Speaker he represented the public face of the Republican opposition to President Bill Clinton.  Chief Justice Earl Warren - was a California district attorney of Alameda County, the 30th Governor of California, and the 14th Chief Justice of the United States (from 1953 to 1969). As Chief Justice, his term of office was marked by numerous rulings affecting, among other things, the legal status of racial segregation, civil rights, separation of church and state and police arrest procedure in the United States.  Woodrow Wilson - was the 28th President of the United States (1913–1921). A devout Presbyterian, he became a noted historian and political scientist. As a reform Democrat he was elected Governor of New Jersey in 1910 and President in 1912. His first term as president resulted in major legislation including the Federal Reserve System. Reelected in 1916, his second term centered on World War I and his efforts in 1919 to shape the Treaty of Versailles, which was rejected by the Senate.  ‘American Raphael’  Art Buchwald - an American humorist best known for his long-running column in The Washington Post newspaper, which concentrates on political satire and commentary. He received the Pulitzer Prize for Outstanding Commentary in 1982 and in 1986 was elected to the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters. Buchwald is also known for the Buchwald v. Paramount lawsuit, which he and partner Alain Bernheim filed against Paramount Pictures in 1988 in a controversy over the Eddie Murphy movie Coming to America. Buchwald claimed Paramount had stolen his script idea. He won, was awarded damages, and then accepted a settlement from Paramount. The case was the subject of a 1992 book, Fatal Subtraction: The Inside Story of Buchwald V. Paramount by Pierce O'Donnell and Dennis McDougal.  Cornelius Vanderbilt - was a U.S. entrepreneur who built his wealth in shipping and railroads and was the patriarch of the Vanderbilt family. In later life he was known as Commodore Vanderbilt. The family was founded by Cornelius Vanderbilt (1794-1877), the fourth of nine children born to a Staten Island family of modest means. His great-great-great-grandfather, Jan Aertszoon van der Bilt (1620-1705), was a Dutch farmer from the village of De Bilt, Utrecht in the Netherlands who emigrated to the Dutch colony of New Netherlands as an indentured servant in 1650. Jan's village name was added to the Dutch "van der" (from the) to create "van der Bilt" which was evolved to Vanderbilt when the English took control of New Amsterdam (now New York). Cornelius Vanderbilt left school at the age of 11 and went on to build a shipping and railroad empire that, during the 19th century, made him one of the wealthiest men in the world. *** Peter Zenger (18th ct.) - a printer, publisher, editor and journalist whose indictment, trial and acquittal on sedition and libel charges (against the then Governor William Cosby of the New York Colony) in 1734 was an important contributing factor to the development of the freedom of the press in America. The Zenger decision helped clarify the beliefs of early Colonial life and lay the groundwork for the responsibilities of both media and government in a functioning democracy.  Frederick Douglass 27 (19th ct.) - an American abolitionist, editor, orator, author, statesman and reformer. Called "The Sage of Anacostia" and "The Lion of Anacostia," Douglass was among the most prominent African Americans of his time, and one of the most influential lecturers and authors in American history.  Jackie Robinson -died in ’72 - he became the first African American Major League Baseball player of the modern era in 1947. Robinson's achievement has been recognized by the retirement by each Major League team of his uniform number, 42.  Ronald Reagan - the 40th President of the United States (1981–1989) and the 33rd Governor of California (1967–1975). His speaking style, which was widely regarded as well delivered and persuasive, earned Reagan the nickname "The Great Communicator" from the media. Though his presidency was battered by numerous scandals, investigations and convictions of staff members, Reagan survived with fairly high approval ratings, and was nicknamed the Teflon president. Reagan defeated incumbent President Jimmy Carter to win the election of 1980, carrying along the first Republican-dominated U.S. Senate in 26 years. His economic policy of supply-side economics, popularly known as "Reaganomics" is noted for a 25% cut in the income tax, reduction in inflation, reduction in interest rates, increased military spending, increased deficits and national debt, a temporary solution to the Social Security issue, elimination of loopholes in the tax code, continued deregulation of business, a sharp recession in 1981-1982 followed by a very robust economic expansion starting in '82. In other domestic issues he failed in his efforts to significantly change social policies such as welfare and abortion during his presidency, but he did move the federal judiciary to the right through appointments to the Supreme Court and other federal courts. From beginning to end he emphasized his skepticism concerning the ability of the federal government to remedy problems.  Alger Hiss (died in '96) - a U.S. State Department official and involved in the early United Nations. In 1948, Whittaker Chambers accused Hiss of being a Communist and a spy for the Soviet Union. After two trials, Hiss was convicted of perjury in 1950. Subsequent evidence from Soviet Union KGB archives has led many of Hiss's former supporters to acknowledge his guilt. Post-Cold War archival evidence from US and Soviet services continue to fuel the controversy over Hiss's conviction. Hiss continued to maintain his innocence and was successful in reversing his disbarment, but ultimately failed in his life-long goal of complete exoneration by the U.S. Supreme Court. People's opinion of the Hiss case often reflected their attitudes on the Cold War. Cold War hawks saw the Hiss case as yet another case of massive infiltration of the US government by Communists, Communist sympathizers, and fellow travelers. Cold War doves saw the Hiss conviction as the destruction of a loyal and dedicated civil servant by those whose goals were the discrediting of both the United Nations and the entire New Deal.  Whittaker Chambers (died in ’61) - an American writer, editor, political operative and defector best known for his accusations of, and testimony on, charges of espionage and subversion against Alger Hiss.  Arthur Miller (died in ’05) - an American playwright, essayist and author. He was a prominent figure in American literature and cinema for over 61 years, writing a wide variety of plays. Miller's best-known works were The Crucible, All My Sons (which won the 1947 Tony Award for best play), and Death of a Salesman, which are still widely studied and performed worldwide . He was also known for his short-lived marriage to Marilyn Monroe (1956-1961), who converted to Judaism for him.  Alexander Hamilton (18th ct.) - an American politician, statesman, writer, lawyer, and soldier. One of the United States' most prominent and brilliant early constitutional lawyers, he was an influential delegate to the U.S. Constitutional Convention and the principal author of the Federalist Papers, which successfully defended the U.S. Constitution to skeptical New Yorkers. He also put the new United States of America onto a sound economic footing as its first and most influential Secretary of the Treasury, establishing the First Bank of the United States, public credit and the foundations for American capitalism, and stock and commodity exchanges. To defend his programs against the criticisms of Thomas Jefferson and James Madison, Hamilton founded the first political party in the United States, the Federalist Party, which he dominated until his death in a duel with political rival Aaron Burr.  Allen Weinstein