shpory_amerika_1

Many city dwellers relocate from the city center to less heavily populated areas at the edge of the city. These areas, known as "suburbs," have combined elements of both urban and rural living, and have blurred the dividing line between city and countryside. Central cities and their suburbs together form metropolitan regions and must be considered economic and social wholes. As a result of the expansion of these suburban rings, many metropolitan areas have grown so large in recent decades that they have overlapped, and have begun to merge into megalopolises. The largest of these are occupying an area on the Atlantic seaboard from north of Boston, through New York, south to Washington, D.C.—"Bosnywash." This megalopolis contains more than one-sixth of the entire United States population. It is bound together by many economic and social relationships.

A pattern of urban is in sharp contrast to that in cities in other industrialized countries. Elsewhere in the world because of the advantages which city life can offer, city centers are regarded as the most desirable living space. In the United States, many in the wealthy and the middle class have moved to the periphery, the city centers are perceived as among the least desirable areas to live. Cities such as New York, Boston, Baltimore, Washington, D.C. and San Francisco have accomplished major "urban renewal" projects, rebuilding and renovating huge tracts of the central city area, and thus once again attracting businesses and more affluent groups to settle there. An important source of urban population growth, especially since 1945, has been the migration to cities of black Americans and Hispanics.

22. Elementary and secondary education Each fall almost 50 million young Americans walk through the doorways of about 100 000 elementary and secondary schools. About 85 % students attend public schools, supported by the Am. taxpayers, the other 15 % attend private schools, for which their families choose to pay special attendance fees. Most public schools are coeducational, girls and boys study together. But a lot of church supported schools are for boys or girls only. There are some laws which regulate ed.; all states require young people to attend school( the age limits vary), some states play a strong role in the selection of learning material for their students. Almost every elementary school provides instructions in these subjects; math., language arts( a subject that includes reading, grammar, composition and literature): science: social studies( includes history, geography and economics), music, art and physical education. The elementary school in the US is generally considered to include the first six or eight grades of the common-school system, depending upon the organization that has been accepted for the secondary school. It has been called the "grade school" or the "grammar school". The elementary school is followed by four years of secondary school, or high school. Often the last two years of elementary and the first years of secondary school are combined into a junior high school. Admission to the American high school is automatic on completion of the elementary school. During the four-year high school program the student studies four or five major subjects per year, and classes in each of these subjects meet for an hour a day, five days a week. In addition, the student usually has classes in physical education, music, and art several times a week. Students are guided by school counselors in choosing electives, which can range from specialized academic to vocational subjects. If he fails a course, he repeats only that course and not the work of the entire year. Students must complete a certain number of courses in order to receive a diploma, or a certificate of graduation.

23. Higher education Out of the more than three million students who graduate from high school each year, about one million go on for “higher education”. Successful applicants at such colleges are usually chosen on the basis of: high school records; recommendations from high school teachers; the impression they make during interviews at the university; their scores on the Scholastic Aptitude Tests (SAT); The system of higher education in the United States is complex. It comprises four categories of institutions:1.the university, which may contain several colleges for undergraduate students seeking a bachelor's (four-year) degree; one or more graduate schools for those continuing in specialized studies beyond the bachelor's degree to obtain a master's or a doctoral degree; 2.the four-year undergraduate institution-the college-most of which are not part of a university; 3.the technical training institution, at which high school graduates may take courses ranging from six months to four years in duration and learn wide variety of technical skills, from hair styling through business accounting to computer programming; 4. the two-year, or community college, from which students may enter many professions or may transfer to four-year colleges or universities. During the first two years of a student's studies, three-quarters of his studies will be made up of prescribed courses in the humanities, the natural sciences, the social sciences, and the fine arts. The remaining quarter will be "elective" courses selected by the student himself from a very wide range of options. In the third and fourth years, a student will specialize in one or perhaps two subject fields, with the equivalent of a full year of study in a major field and a full year in a number of supporting studies. Any of institutions of higher ed. may be private or public. American universities are most being private. All universities, even state one, are fee-paying. The best-known private universities are the oldest ones in the Northeast, known informally as the Ivy League: include Harvard, Yale and Princeton. Other main universities are California Un., Catholic Un. Of America, Cornell Un., Columbia Un., Chicago Un., Stanford Un. The academic year is usually of 9 month duration, or 2 semesters of 4 and a half month each. Students are classified as freshmen, sophomores, juniors and seniors. A peculiar feature of Un. Life is numerous students unities, fraternities and sororities.

24. Black Slavery America. Civil rights movement. The history of blacks in NA began in August 1619 when a small Dutch warship sailed up the James River to the young English colony of Jamestown, Virginia. In 1619 the Europeans didn’t have the practice of slavery – the complete ownership of one person by another one. But they did have the practice of an indentured service. The 20 Blacks landed from the Dutch ship were viewed as indentured servants. Between 1640 and 1680 Virginia and other southern colonies drifted steadily towards the establishment of a system of slave labor. Blacks were brought to America by ships’ captains who sold them to the highest bidder. In the early 1960s the buyers and sellers sometimes agreed on a period of servitude for black indentured servants. Throughout the 18th cent. an increasing number of people in Britain and NA spoke out against slave trade. But the wealthy slave owners and slave traders had powerful friends in government and were able to defeat all attempts to end the slave trade. In 1865 when the war ended and Congress passed the 13th Amendment to the Constitution, which completely abolished slavery. Another amendment the 11th gave blacks full citizenship rights. For a time many hoped that blacks and whites could live together in a state of equality and tolerance. But local laws and customs were used to deprive blacks of voting rights. However, progress did occur during the difficult years from 1919 to 1950. Individual blacks made breaks through in education, science, sports, entertainment, business, engineering, and most of all in music and arts. At the same time black leaders felt that the people would have to take action to end discrimination of civil rights. One opportunity for action was presented by the arrest of woman named Rosa Parks in Mont Gomery. , Alabama on December 1, 1955 for refusing to give up her seat to a white person on a city bus. Then there was a boycott. It lasted a year. Cost the city more and more money. A high point of the civil rights movement occurred on August 28, 1964, when 250000 people of all races marched in Washington to demand that the nation keep its pledge of “justice for all’. The civil rights acts of 1964, 1965, 1968 were landmarks in dismantling the legal basis for discrimination.

25 The story of NA is one that is unique, tragic and inspiring. It’s so because Indians were the original inhabitants of the American continent and experienced every phase of its European settlement. About 60% of Indians in the USA live in large cities and rural areas scattered throughout the country. There is the Indian population in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Denver, Minneapolis, Albuquerque, and Chicago. Nearly 40% of NA live in reservations. There are 200 of them. The social and economic conditions in reservations are terrible. There is a high death rate Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States.The more northern tribes of the continent from the lighter Mongolians, who crossed at Bering Strait, and the more southerly ones, in California, Central and South America, from the darker Malays, who first peopled Polynesia, in the southern Pacific Ocean and finally made their way to our continent, gradually spreading over it from the Pacific to the Atlantic. Language fails to connect any of them with the Asiatic families, but their traditions, implements, and modes of life point to such a relation-ship. It has been suggested that the Mandans and Chinooks, who are almost white, are descendants of a Welsh colony said to have been lost in the wilds of North America 700 years ago.There seems to be a physical identity of race throughout most of the continent. Their skin is generally of a dark reddish-brown, or cinnamon, color; they have long, black, and straight hair, prominent cheek-bones, and broad faces; eyes deep-set, full and rounded lips, broad and prominent noses, scanty beard; their heads are generally square, and their stature about the same as that of other races of the same latitude. Their muscular development is not great, and their hands and feet are small; their skin is thinner, softer, and smoother than that of Europeans; the expression of the men is often noble, and many of the women are handsome. Their mental temperament is poetic and imaginative in a high degree, and it is often expressed in great beauty and eloquence of language. The tribes south of California have always been noted for significant mental development.Since the end of the 15th century, the migration of Europeans to the Americas, and their importation of Africans as slaves, has led to centuries of conflict and adjustment between Old and New World societies. Europeans created most of the early written historical record about Native Americans after the colonists' immigration to the Americas. Many Native Americans lived as hunter-gatherer societies and told their histories by oral traditions. The indigenous cultures were quite different from those of the agrarian, proto-industrial, mostly Christian immigrants from western Eurasia. the people occupied lands for use of the entire community, for hunting or agriculture.The differences in culture between the established native Americans and immigrant Europeans, as well as shifting alliances among different nations of each culture through the centuries, caused extensive political tension, ethnic violence and social disruption.The Trail of Broken Treaties (also known as the Trail of Broken Treaties Caravan) was a cross-country protest in the United States by American Indian and First Nations organizations that took place in the autumn of 1972. It was designed to bring attention to American Indian issues, such as treaty rights, living standards, and inadequate housing.In August 1972, Rosebud Reservation tribal chairman Robert Burnette voiced the idea of a march on Washington D.C., dubbing the march the “Trail of Broken Treaties.“ Indian activists began coordinating across the country for the proposed march. The activists planned to converge on Washington D.C. during the final week of the 1972 presidential election between George McGovern and Richard Nixon . Upon their arrival, the activists planned to present to the federal government a Twenty Points Position Paper. Largely the brainchild of Hank Adams, the document outlined the group's goals, including a demand for the government to revive the treaty-making process with American Indian nations, the creation of a treaty commission to review violations and supply compensation, and called upon the federal government to conduct Indian policy in the framework of treaty relations.In the postwar decades both Native Americans and politicians became dissatisfied with the colonial-type relationship between Indians and the federal government. Growing white guilt on the Left and the desire of the Right to end what they perceived as the collectivist and socialistic nature of reservations intersected to begin dismantling the reservation system. The Burea of Indian Affair's relocation program and federal government's termination policy both worked to deconstruct the reservations and relocate American Indians to urban centers with the intent of improving their economic standing and integrate them into "mainstream" society. Between 1930 and 1970, nearly 118,000 Indians left the reservations for major relocation centers.

26. In 1812 the very rapid growth of urban population. 4 causes: rapid industrialization; the relentless construction of roads and railways making easier the movement of goods and people, a steady stream of immigrants fleeing war, persecution and poverty in their countries of origin and concentrating in America's major ports of entry, and farm workers displaced by machinery, making their way to a supposed brighter future in the cities. The ratio of urban dwellers in the much expanded national population rose from 8% to 25. By the end of the 19th century, the United States was dotted with large and small cities. From the 1820s to the 1880s, changes occurred so rapidly that city governments struggled to cope with them.

By 1830, New York had gained a reputation as a place of great motion and constant activity. At the same time, NY experienced archaic sanitation, contaminated water, severe poverty, insufficient housing and schools. The immigrants came from practically every country and area of the world. They crowded into the cities, often living together in distinct communities, or ethnic neighborhoods demarcated by language, religious and cultural differences. Many of these enclaves still exist today. Most city governments were characterized by a spirit of laissez-faire. City government leaders saw their role as one of maintaining civil order, not as engaging in city planning.

Between 1880 and 1920, many urban problems found at least temporary solutions. Movement to bring about social, economic and political reform arose in all the large cities. Collectively, these reform activities came to be known as the Progressive Movement. Public health programs were started to offer help to the poor. Public school systems were enlarged and strict qualification standards for teachers were set. Housing quality laws were passed. Agencies were created to teach language and job skills to millions of immigrants. In addition, there were many technical innovations: the electric light and the electrification of machinery, water and sewage systems, the trolley car and subway, and the elevator and skyscraper.

27. The original North American colonies were regarded by the mother countries of Britain, Holland and France primarily as sources of raw material from field, forest, ocean and mine, and as potential markets for finished goods manufactured in Europe. While this approach required rural and wilderness settlement, it was necessary, at the same time, to establish small towns in the colonies as administrative centers to control the emerging trans-Atlantic trade. These towns were gathering places for artisans and shopkeepers who served the agricultural hinterlands. In the large and frightening wilderness, the towns provided security and also served as social centers.

Eventually, with increasing numbers of European settlers arriving in the New World, coastal cities—the largest of which were Boston, New York, Philadelphia and Charleston, South Carolina—came into being, and their economic and social influence stretched into extensive rural backlands. At the same time, as port cities, they rapidly grew to be flourishing centers of international commerce, trading with Europe and the Caribbean. By 1660, Boston contained about 3,000 people. New York (then called New Amsterdam) was founded in 1625 by the Dutch West India Company, which exported furs, timber and wheat. Captured by the British in 1664, New Amsterdam was renamed New York. Because of its favorable geography, it soon became an important trading port. By 1775, its population was about 25,000. William Penn, who planned the city of Philadelphia, believed that a well-ordered city was necessary to economic growth and moral health. He wanted to build a "green country town". Inside the town were markets, residential housing, small factories, churches, public buildings, recreational areas and parks.

Most American towns of this early period featured open spaces alternating with built-up areas. Much free land was available, and, as fewer than 10 percent of the people lived in the towns, few opposed their growth. By the middle of the 18th century, however, many people opposed this growth because the towns had begun to seem too large and crowded.

By 1750, the larger cities were dominated by a wide range of commercial and craft activities. A corresponding range of social groups developed: from an economically and socially dominant merchant and administrative class to a middle class of artisans, shop-keepers, farmers and smaller traders. On the edge of society, groups of the poor and dispossessed scrambled for an economic foothold, and were sometimes dependent upon charity. Culturally, the colonies were outposts of Britain. The colonial cities were visited by touring actors and musicians and enriched by the development of schools, libraries and lecture halls. All of this increased the differences between city and country life and contributed to the importance of the American city as an initiator of social change. In terms of administration, the development of towns created a dense web of social, eco-nomic and governmental structures and regulations. Councilmen were first elected to govern New York City in 1684. In contrast, the city of Charles Town (now called Charleston), in South Carolina, had no local representatives, but was governed by the State Assembly. The War of Independence (1775-1783) was largely brought about by the grievances of city dwellers. Strict limitations imposed by the British on manufacture and trade, and the British Parliament's repeated levying of taxes without prior consultation with the colonists were widely perceived as unjust and punitive measures. Furthermore, one hundred years of inter-city trade had forged a sense of nationhood. The famous Boston Tea Party, during which colonists destroyed tea imported on British ships rather than pay taxes on it, expressed the colonists' frustration and their growing sense of national unity. The war secured political independence for the United States, but economically, the new nation was still dependent upon the trading patterns that had developed over a century.. This situation lasted until the War of 1812 (with England), during which great suffering occurred as a result of the British blockade of American ports

28. Science and technology. From its emergence as an independent nation, the US has encouraged science and invention. It has done this by promoting a free flow of ideas, by encouraging the growth of "useful knowledge," and by welcoming creative people from all over the world. The US Constitution itself reflects the desire to encourage scientific creativity. This clause ensured that inventions and other creative works could not be copied or used without the creator's receiving some kind of compensation.Early North Am science B.Franklin conducted experiments that deepened human understanding of electricity.Franklin also invented bifocal eyeglasses.Thomas Jefferson introduced various types of rice,olive trees,grasses into the New World.Rittenhouse built telescopes and navigation instruments for the US' military services, also he designed road and canal systems.Benjamin Rush promoted hygiene and public health practices.Charles Willson Peale created the first major museum in the US.Science immigration.A notable early immigrant was the British chemist Joseph Priestley was the 1of thousands of talented scientists.Alexander Bell,from Scotland,developed the telephone.Charles Steinmetz,from Germany,developed new alternating-current electrical systems,Vladimir Zworykin,from Russia invented a television camera.The Serb Nikola Tesla invented the brushless electrical motor based on rotating magnetic fields.Enrico Fermi, came from Italy and produced the world's first self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction.Since 1950, Americans have won approximately half of the Nobel Prizes awarded in the sciences.Am applied science.During the 19th the US excelled in using theory to solve problems:applied science.The great Am inventors include Robert Fulton(the steamboat);Samuel Morse(the telegraph);Eli Whitney(the cotton gin);Cyrus McCormick(the reaper);and Thomas Alva Edison.In the 1890s the Wright brothers built and flew several gliders.John Bardeen, William Shockley,and Walter Brattain drew upon highly sophisticated principles of quantum physics to invent the transistor,a small substitute for the bulky vacuum tube.As a result, book-sized computers of today can outperform room-sized computers of the 1960s.The Atomic Age and "Big Science".One of the most spectacular accomplishments of US technology has been the harnessing of nuclear energy.During 1940s,a number of the most prominent European scientists immigrated to the US: Hans Bethe, Albert Einstein, Enrico Fermi, Leó Szilárd, Edward Teller, Felix Bloch, Emilio Segrè, and Eugene Wigner.The first US commercial nuclear power plant started operation in Illinois.American scientists have been experimenting with solar power.Although solar power generation is still not economical in much of the United States, recent developments might make it more affordable.Telecom and technology For the past 80 years,US has been integral in fundamental advances in telecommunications and technology.For example,the Am technological revolution with a series of inventions including the light emitted diode (LED), the transistor, the C programming language, and the UNIX.The birth to the personal computer industry, while NASA funded the development of the Internet.The "Space Age"American Robert Goddard was one of the first scientists to experiment with rocket propulsion systems.Goddard's rockets achieved modest altitudes of nearly two kilometers.Expendable rockets provided the means for launching artificial satellites & manned spacecraft.In 1958 US launched Explorer I.Communications satellites transmit computer data, telephone calls, and radio and television broadcasts.Weather satellites furnish the data necessary to provide early warnings of severe storms.Medicine and health care.Numerous medical achievements have been made:mortality from heart disease dropped,the death rate for strokes decreased, the cancer death rate fell, children cancer is cured.Molecular genetics and genomics research have revolutionized biomedical science, trials of gene therapy in humans and are now able to locate, identify, and describe the function of many genes in the human genome

29.Immigration to the United States has been a major source of population growth and cultural change throughout much of the history of the United States.American immigration history can be viewed in four epochs: the colonial period, the mid-nineteenth century, the turn of the twentieth, and post-1965. Each period brought distinct national groups, races, and ethnicities to the United States. During the seventeenth century, approximately 175,000 Englishmen migrated to Colonial America. Over half of all European immigrants to Colonial America during the 17th and 18th centuries arrived as indentured servants. The mid-nineteenth century saw mainly an influx from northern Europe; the early twentieth-century mainly from Southern and Eastern Europe; post-1965 mostly from Latin America and Asia. Historians estimate that less than one million immigrants—perhaps as few as 400,000—crossed the Atlantic during the 17th and 18th centuries. The 1790 Act limited naturalization to "free white persons"; it was expanded to include blacks in the 1860s and Asians in the 1950s. In the early years of the United States, immigration was fewer than 8,000 people a year, including French refugees from the slave revolt in Haiti. After 1820, immigration gradually increased. From 1836 to 1914, over 30 million Europeans migrated to the United States. The death rate on these transatlantic voyages was high, during which one in seven travelers died. In 1875, the nation passed its first immigration law. The peak year of European immigration was in 1907, when 1,285,349 persons entered the country. By 1910, 13.5 million immigrants were living in the United States. In 1921, the Congress passed the Emergency Quota Act, followed by the Immigration Act of 1924. The 1924 Act was aimed at further restricting the Southern and Eastern Europeans, especially Jews, Italians, and Slavs, who had begun to enter the country in large numbers beginning in the 1890s. Most of the European refugees fleeing the Nazis and World War II were barred from coming to the United States. Immigration patterns of the 1930s were dominated by the Great Depression, which hit the U.S. hard and lasted over ten years there. In the final prosperous year, 1929, there were 279,678 immigrants recorded, but in 1933, only 23,068 came to the U.S. In the early 1930s, more people emigrated from the United States than immigrated to it. The U.S. government sponsored a Mexican Repatriation program which was intended to encourage people to voluntarily move to Mexico, but thousands were deported against their will. Altogether about 400,000 Mexicans were repatriated. In the post-war era, the Justice Department launched Operation Wetback, under which 1,075,168 Mexicans were deported in 1954. The Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965, also known as the Hart-Cellar Act, abolished the system of national-origin quotas. By equalizing immigration policies, the act resulted in new immigration from non-European nations, which changed the ethnic make-up of the United States. While European immigrants accounted for nearly 60% of the total foreign population in 1970, they accounted for only 15% in 2000. Immigration doubled between 1965 and 1970, and again between 1970 and 1990. In 1990, George H. W. Bush signed the Immigration Act of 1990, which increased legal immigration to the United States by 40%. Appointed by Bill Clinton, the U.S. Commission on Immigration Reform recommended reducing legal immigration from about 800,000 people per year to approximately 550,000. While an influx of new residents from different cultures presents some challenges, "the United States has always been energized by its immigrant populations," said President Bill Clinton in 1998. Nearly eight million immigrants came to the United States from 2000 to 2005, more than in any other five-year period in the nation's history. Almost half entered illegally. Since 1986, Congress has passed seven amnesties for illegal immigrants. In 1986, Ronald Reagan signed immigration reform that gave amnesty to 3 million illegal immigrants in the country. Hispanic immigrants were among the first victims of the late-2000s recession, but since the recession's end in June 2009, immigrants posted a net gain of 656,000 jobs. 1.1 million immigrants were granted legal residence in 2009.

30. From the earliest days, the sight of farmers working the land has been at the heart of the American experience. Now, as then, agriculture provides the sustenance that meets people's most basic needs. Agriculture represents a bond of continuity between present and past, linking new generations with the rhythms and dreams of generations of long ago. Today the average American farm comprises 462 acres. historical overview The first American farmers, the Native Americans, helped European settlers to adapt European methods and crops to the soil and climate of North America. The settlers achieved this adaptation with relative ease. North American agriculture came to be based upon a multitude of small freeholdings or "family farms". Except in a few heavily settled areas, American farms tended to be scattered and isolated. Prominent agriculturists like Jefferson helped to popularize ideas of a more scientific approach to farming being advanced by European advocates. Such practices as crop rotation and the liming of fields spread rapidly in the years after American independence. Technology played a key role in the rapid growth of farm output in the United States. Throughout the 19th century, one new invention or tool followed another in rapid succession. The scythe and cradle replaced the sickle for harvesting grain. By the time of the Civil War machines were taking over the tasks of haying, threshing, mowing, cultivating and planting. A large agricultural industry had grown up. The government act establishing the free-land policy was known as the Homestead Act. Adopted in 1862 the act offered a farm, a "homestead," of 160 acres of land to each family of settlers. In later years, the government provided means by which families could acquire still larger acreages at little or no cost. The Homestead Act confirmed the existing pattern of small, family farms. It helped to drain surplus population away from the eastern states and to build up the population of independent farmers. CURRENT FARM POLICIES • Acreage Limitations. On the theory that overproduction is a chief cause of low farm prices, the government encourages farmers to plant fewer acres. This policy began with the Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1933, a key New Deal law that offered special subsidies to farmers who agreed to remove part of their land from production.• Price Supports. Certain basic commodities are eligible for price supports, which come in the form of a loan from a government agency • Deficiency Payments. More important than price-support loans are deficiency payments, which are a direct form of income support for farmers. Congress sets a "target price" for various crops. To receive any benefit, farmers must take some of their land out of production. If the market price that the farmers receive when they sell the crop falls short of the target price, they receive a check from the government to make up the difference. Deficiency payments are limited to $50,000 a year. • Marketing Orders. A few crops, including lemons and oranges, are subject to outright restrictions on marketing. So-called "marketing orders" limit the amount of a crop that a grower can send to market week by week. By restricting sales, such orders are intended to increase the prices that farmers receive. The restrictions are applied by committees of producers within a particular state or region. • Farm Credit. Access to borrowed money has always been regarded by farmers as crucial to their operations. As early as 1916, the federal government began to provide assistance to private and cooperative farm credit programs. • Soil Conservation. Some federal programs are aimed specifically at promoting soil conservation. Under one program, for example, the government shares with farmers the cost of seeding unused land to grass or legumes in order to reduce the danger of erosion.• Providing Water for Irrigation. A federal system of dams and irrigation canals provides water at subsidized prices to farmers in 16 western states. Subsidized water helps to grow 18% of the nation's cotton, 14 % of its barley, 12 % of its rice and 3 % of its wheat. AMERICAN AGRICULTURE TODAY The successes of American agriculture are easy to see—and many farmers are quick to boast of them. The United States produces as much as half of the world's soybeans and corn for grain, and from 10 to 25 percent of its cotton, wheat, tobacco and vegetable oils. American agriculture is big business. The term "agribusiness" has been coined to reflect the large-scale nature of agricultural enterprise in the modern U.S. economy. Agribusiness includes farmer cooperatives, rural banks, shippers of farm products, commodity dealers, firms that manufacture farm equipment, food-processing industries, grocery chains and many other businesses. American consumers pay far less for their food than the people of many other industrial countries. The standard of living of American farmers is generally high. Incomes of farm families average about three-quarters of those of nonfarm families, but because farm families' living expenses are lower, their standard of living is close to the national average. However, American agriculture has a dark side too. A period of economic difficulty began in the early 1980s. Crop prices fell and interest rates rose. Many farmers lost their farms and equipment, which were sold off to satisfy the farmers' debts. In dozens of farm communities, the crisis caused the closing of banks, farmer cooperatives and small businesses. In 1987, there were slightly more than 2 million farms in the United State. Slightly more than 86 percent of the total number of farms are owned by individuals or families. Some 67,000 farms are owned by corporations, but most of those corporations are owned by families. Although family farms are not disappearing, smaller farms are disappearing.

31. Nature of American business today.

No single factor is responsible for the successes of American business and industry. A population of more than 250 mln people provides both workers and consumers for American businesses. A number of recurrent themes weave themselves through the fabric of American business life. A few are: • What role for government? For more than two centuries, the theory of laissez-faire has dominated government policy toward American business. Laissez-faire ("leave it alone") allows private interests to have virtual free rein in operating business. • Protectionism or free trade? Protectionist measures, such as those advocated by Alexander Hamilton, have often held sway. As a rule, manufacturers and industrial workers have been the strongest supporters of protectionism. The United States had generally high tariffs. In response to complaints that high tariffs were making the Great Depression of the 1930s worse, a period of trade liberalization began with Congress' adoption of the Reciprocal Trade Agreements Act of 1934. In the 1970s and 1980s renewed economic stress has evoked calls for a return to protectionism.• Big business or small business? Since about the time of the Civil War, the United States has experienced several waves of business concentration. Supporters of concentration have argued that only large enterprises can benefit from the advantages of scale that accompany modern industrial methods. Few if any Americans believe that complete return to small-scale enterprise would be either possible or desirable. But many have criticized the ways in which concentration has occurred. • Relations between management and labor. Still another contentious issue has been the relative rights and responsibilities of management and labor. While management has usually held the upper hand in management-labor disputes in the United States, organized labor, promising higher wages and improved benefits, made major gains under laws adopted by Congress in the 1930s. Those laws established a legal framework for worker representation and for the collective bargaining process • The ups and downs of the business cycle. Business activity in the United States has followed a cyclical pattern of ups and downs, as is common in market economies. The period of time from the peak to the trough of a cycle varies greatly, from as little as 3 to as many as 15 years. Because of the cyclical nature of business activity, such economic indicators as employment rates and investment levels are constantly fluctuating. Over time, however, the level of business activity has tended to rise. International business American diplomacy has often opened doors for American business abroad. American political leaders have often encouraged American businesses to invest abroad as a way of strengthening the American diplomatic hand. Not surprisingly, the American business presence has received a mixed welcome in the rest of the world. Many people see American business activities as an extension of its diplomacy. On the other hand, many people in other countries have welcomed investments by American firms as a means of raising their own standards of living. By investing abroad, American businesses have provided many new jobs and new products for people who lacked access to the benefits of modern industrial society. Business organizations in the United States have been eager to spread the message of free enterprise to new generations of Americans. One of many activities sponsored by United States businesses is a nationwide program called Junior Achievement. Local business people help high-school-age "junior achievers" to organize small companies, sell stock to friends and parents, produce and market a product and pay stockholders a dividend. The same young people act as company officers, salespeople and production workers. The idea is to give young people a deeper appreciation to the role entrepreneurship plays in a capitalist society and to give them experience in business practices.

32.The United States has a mixed economy where corporations and other private firms make the majority of microeconomic decisions regulated by government. Since the 1970's, the U.S. economy has been characterized by somewhat slower growth. In 1985, the U.S. began its growing trade deficit with China. In recent years, the primary economic concerns have centered around: high national debt ($9 trillion), high corporate debt ($9 trillion), high mortgage debt ($9 trillion), high unfunded Medicare liability ($30 trillion), high unfunded Social Security liability ($12 trillion), high external debt (amount owed to foreign lenders), high trade deficits, and a rise in illegal immigration. In 2006, the U.S economy had its lowest saving rate since the 1933. The US economy maintains a low unemployment rate, and is still an attraction to immigrants worldwide.The economy of the United States is large and complicated, but there remain certain features which are easily identifiable. A central feature of the US economy is freedom in economic decision-making, for both the individual and corporation.This is enhanced by relatively low levels of regulation, taxation and government involvement, as well as a court system that generally protects property rights and enforces contracts. A large population, a large land area, numerous natural resources, a stable government and a highly developed system of secondary education are almost universally regarded as substantial contributors to US economic performance.The first ingredient of a nation's economic system is its natural resources. The United States is rich in mineral resources and fertile farm soil, and it is fortunate to have a moderate climate. It also has extensive coastlines on both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, as well as on the Gulf of Mexico. Rivers flow from far within the continent, and the Great Lakes—five large, inland lakes along the U.S. border with Canada—provide additional shipping access. These extensive waterways have helped shape the country's economic growth over the years and helped bind America's 50 individual states together in a single economic unit.The second ingredient is labor. The number of available workers and, more importantly, their productivity help determine the health of an economy. Throughout its history, the United States has experienced steady growth in the labor force, and that, in turn, has helped fuel almost constant economic expansion. Until shortly after World War I, most workers were immigrants from Europe, their immediate descendants, or African Americans who were mostly slaves taken from Africa, or slave descendants. Beginning in the early 20th century, many Latin Americans immigrated; followed by large numbers of Asians following removal of nation-origin based immigration quotas. The promise of high wages brings many highly skilled workers from around the world to the United States .Similarly, economic opportunities in industrial, northern cities attracted black Americans from southern farms in the first half of the 20th century. Third, there is manufacturing and investment. In the U S., the corporation has emerged as an association of owners, known as stockholders, who form a business enterprise governed by a complex set of rules and customs. Brought on by the process of mass production, corporations such as General Electric have been instrumental in shaping the United States. Through the stock market, American banks and investors have grown their economy by investing and withdrawing capital from profitable corporations. Today in the era of globalization American investors and corporations have influence all over the world. The American government has also been instrumental in investing in the economy, in areas such as providing cheap electricity , and military contracts in times of war. While consumers and producers make most decisions that mold the economy, government activities have a powerful effect on the U.S. economy . Main industries: petroleum, steel, motor vehicles, aerospace, telecommunications, chemicals, electronics, food processing, consumer goods, lumber, mining, defense .Exports $1.024 trillion (2006 ) Export goods- agricultural products (soybeans, fruit, corn) industrial supplies (organic chemicals) capital goods (transistors, aircraft, motor vehicle parts, computers, telecommunications equipment) consumer goods (automobiles, medicines) Main export partners Canada 23%, Mexico 14%, Japan 6%, United Kingdom 3.5% Imports $1.869 trillion . Import goods- agricultural products , industrial supplies 32.9% (crude oil ), capital goods 30.4% (computers, telecommunications equipment, motor vehicle parts, office machines, electric power machinery), consumer goods 31.8% (automobiles, clothing, medicines, furniture, toys) (2003) Main import partners Canada 17%, Mainland China 16%, Mexico 11%, Japan 8%

33. HISTORY:1865 TO 1929 Reconstruction was the period after the American Civil War when the Southern states of the defeated Confederacy, which had seceded from the United States, were reintegrated into the Union. The attempt to establish civil rights for the Negro Freedmen caused lasting bitterness among white Southerners toward the federal government. Under Reconstruction, Republicans took control of Southern State govern-ments from the Democrats and proceeded to comply with readmission requirements. All Southern states were readmitted by 1870, and Reconstruction continued until 1877, when the contentious Presidential election of 1876 was decided in favor of Rutherford B. Hayes, supported by Northern states, over his opponent, Samuel J. Tilden. In any case, Recon-struction generally came to an end at this time since white Northerners had lost interest in trying to protect Southern blacks from Southern whites

MOVING WEST After the C.W. Am-s settled the western half of the U.S. Miners searchers for gold and silver went to the Rocky Mount region. Farmers settled in Minne-sota and Dakotas. Cowboys – hired horsemen. They were former south soldiers or former slaves. A cowboy was America’s hero: worked long hours for low wages. Settlers and the U.S. army fought frequent battles with Indians. Many Indians died of hunger and disease caused by the westward movement of settlers. White men forced the Indians from their land & nearly destroyed all the buffalo, the main source of food for the indigenous people. From 1865 to about 1913, the U.S. grew to become the world's leading industrial nation.

The availability of land and labor, the diversity of climate, the ample presence of navigable canals, rivers, and coastal waterways filling the transportation needs of the emerging industrial economy, and the abundance of natural resources all fostered the cheap extraction of energy, fast transport, and the availability of capital that powered this Second Industrial Revolution. "Where there was iron there was coal" shifted production from artisans to factories, the Second Industrial Revolution pioneered an expansion in organization, coordination, and the scale of industry, spurred on by technology and transportation advancements. Railroads opened up the West, creating markets where none had existed. The First Transcontinental Railroad, built by Irish and Chinese immigrants, provided access to previously remote expanses of land. Railway construction boosted demand for capital, credit, and land. New technologies in iron and steel manufacturing, combined with similar innovations in chemistry and other sciences to vastly improve productivity. New communication tools, such as the telegraph and telephone allowed corporate managers to coordinate across great distances.

Immigration: From 1840 to 1920, an unprecedented and diverse stream of immigrants arrived in the U S, approximately 37 m-n in total. They came from a variety of locations: Germany; Ireland; Italy; England, Scotland and Wales; Scandinavia; and 3.3 million people from Russia. Various ethnic groups settled in different locations. New York and other large cities of the East Coast became home to large Jewish, Irish, and Italian populations, while many Germans and Central Europeans moved to the Midwest, obtain-ing jobs in industry and mining. At the same time, about 1 ml-n French Canadians migrated from Canada to New England .Immigrants came for a variety of reasons, such as to find economic opportunity or to escape from the Irish Potato Famine. Some Irish were recruited right off the boats into the Union Army during the Civil War. Many immigrants fled from religious or political persecution. Life was hard in Europe and constant wars and epidemics were reason for massive immigration toward better life in the United States. Many of these new immigrants were subject to prejudice and discrimination. And all workers faced the dangerous and exploitative labor conditions prevalent throughout much of the United States. In the end, millions of new immigrants had to dig up their native roots from the Old World, and come in hope of finding a better life in the New World. This desire for freedom and prosperity led to the famous term; the American Dream.

34. Religion in the United States has a history of diversity, due in large part to the nation's multicultural demographic makeup. 41% of American citizens report they regularly attend religious services. The U.S. guarantees freedom of religion and many churches in the U.S. use this freedom by taking strong stances on political subjects. Christianity – the largest religion (78%): Protestants, Catholics, Mormons, various other Christian denominations. Chr. was introduced during the period of European colonization. The French, Spanish and Irish brought Catholicism, while Northern European peoples introduced Protestantism. American Christians developed in their own path. No Religion - The US is unique amongst other post-industrial countries in that it has a relatively low percentage of people claiming to have no religious beliefs but the fluidity of religion in the country is high. Judaism - is the 3rd largest religious preference in the US. Jews have been present in the US since the 17 century. A significant number of people identify themselves as Am Jews (American Jews) on ethnic and cultural grounds, rather than religious ones. Am Jews have some sort of strong connection to the Jewish community, whether religious or cultural. In recent years, there has been a noticeable trend of secular American Jews. Buddhism - entered the US during the 19 C with the arrive of the first immigrants from Eastern Asia. The first Budd. temple was established in San Francisco. Islam - The history of it in the US starts in the early 16 C with the confirmed arrival of early Muslim visitors. Much of the growth has been driven by immigration and conversion. Hinduism - Large groups of Hindus immigrated from India and other Asian countries since the 1960-70s. During the same decades the International Society for Krishna Consciousness was founded in the US. Hindu religion is growing in the US thanks to immigration and many Western converts. Hinduism is expanding in popularity and influence on the public life. Hindu temples are flourishing in the US. Native American religion - These spiritualities may accompany adherence to another faith, or can represent a person's primary religious identity. Another significant religious body among Native peoples is known as the Native American Church. It is a syncretistic church incorporating elements of native spiritual practice from a number of different tribes as well as symbolic elements from Christianity. Native Americans are the only known ethnic group in the US requiring a federal permit to practice their religion.