The History of the USA

This is a well known fact that America was discovered by Christopher Columbus in 1492. America was called so in honour of Italian navigator, scientist and outstanding geographer Amerigo Vespucci. He travelled to America after Columbus between 1497 – 1504 and mapped the whole North American coast.

The Americans celebrate the Columbus Day or Discovery Day on October, 12.

First colonizers were Spaniards. They colonize South California, Texas, Florida. Even today you may find remnants of Spanish occupation. Most country houses are built in Spanish style in the shape of square with an inner courtyard (patio).

The French began to colonize America earlier than the English. They occupied Canada and the area of Great Lakes. Then they moved South and reached the mouth of the Mississippi. They set a colony there. Now it is the city of New-Orleans. Even today the natives of New-Orleans speak a strange dialect, a mixture of English and Old French.

The English colonization began in 1584 when Sir Walter Raleigh organized the first expedition. He sent several ships and they landed in a beautiful place which they began to colonize. They got in touch with the native people. The Indians were friendly to the whites and taught them to grow potatoes, pumpkins, corn and tobacco. They set up a township surrounded with stone walls. The first American was born. It was a girl Virginia Dear. She was named after the Queen Elisabeth I who ruled over England that time and she was called a Virgin Queen. The territory around this place was called Virginia.

For the next three years new expeditions were not sent. When in 1590 an expedition reached the colony in Virginia they didn’t find anybody in its place. A new colony was settled not far from that place on the bank of the James River and it was called Jamestown. In 1619 the first Negro slaves were brought to Virginia and since that time it became a tobacco and cotton growing state. Virginia tobacco is famous all over the world now.

People kept on arriving to America. New colonies appeared in Baltimore, New-York, Pennsylvania. In 1620 the ship ‘Mayflower” landed in New-England with 102 new settlers. They were puritans and called themselves Brothers Pilgrims. They established a Puritan colony. Their first winter was very severe and half of the colony perished. Brother Pilgrims appealed to God to save them and the next season was fruitful. With the help of God and the Indians they gathered good crop. They thanked God and from that time the Americans celebrate Thanksgiving Day on the last Thursday of November. It is a family holiday and on this day all the relatives gathered in the house of the patriarch to have a family dinner. For dinner they usually have roast turkey, pumpkin pie and cranberry jelly.

By the end of the 17^th century 13 colonies had been established and they were called States. They are 13 original states. Hence there are 13 stripes on the American national flag and 50 stars in the left hand top corner which mean 50 present states and the nickname of the flag is “stars and stripes”. But Britain treated America as colonies as the source of raw materials: cotton, tobacco, iron ore. The British Parliament prohibited the construction of iron-works and textile factories in America. The colonies should export ready-made goods from England. All the lands along the Atlantic Ocean belonged to the British aristocracy. In 1775 Parliament adopted the so called Stamp Act under which a stamp tax was collected on every business transaction and there were high custom duties. The colonists revolted against this Act. Revolutionary organizations appeared and the war of independence started. They organize the governing body in Philadelphia, the Congress. The Congress appointed Commander-in-Chief of the American army. He formed the regular army and got a support from France, a traditional British enemy. On the 4^th of July 1776 the Declaration of Independence was adopted by the Congress. Now the 4^th of July is celebrated as a national holiday, Independence Day. The Declaration stated that all men were created equal. Their Creator endowed them with certain inborn rights, such as the right to live and be free. The Declaration affirmed the people’s right to set up a government “of the people, by the people and for the people”. The war between America and Britain ended in 1782. But the peace treaty was signed in 1783 in Paris and under this treaty Britain recognized the independence of the United States of America. The first president was George Washington. The present capital of the USA was named after him. (The first capital was New York).

The North and the South of the country developed differently. The North was quickly industrialized and the South remained agricultural and used slave labour. Most of the people especially in the North wanted the slavery to be abolished.

Abraham Lincoln’s election in 1860 was followed by secession of the formation of a Southern Confederacy and the Civil War. The war between the North and the South lasted for 5 years an ended by the victory of the North and abolition of slavery. It created favorable conditions for industrialization and exploration of the West.

For the last century no bomb fell on the USA and no house was destroyed as a result of a war. When Europe and Asia waged first and second World Wars the USA increased the industrial might and made a lot of money out of selling weapons. After the 2^nd World War, as a result of weakening of the European countries, the USA seized their markets and became a world banker. Now it is the most powerful and influential country.

GEOGRAPHY

The present territory of the USA includes three separate parts:

- the USA proper, or the continental part, situated in the central part of North America, 48 states;

- Alaska, occupying the north western part of North America the 49th state since 1959;

- the Hawaiian Islands, situated in the central region of the Pacific, the 50th state since 1959. The largest state of the USA is Alaska, and the smallest one is Rhode Island.

The total area of the USA is 9 mlnthousand square kilometres. The population, according to 1990 census is 250 mln people.

The continental part of the USA is washed by the Atlantic Ocean in the east, and the Pacific Ocean in the west. In the north it borders on Canada, and in the south on Mexico.

The continental part of the USA consists of two highland and two lowland regions. The highland regions are the Appalachian Mountains in the east and the Cordillera Highland in the west. Between these highland regions there are Central lowlands, cal­led the Mississippi valley and the Eastern lowlands along the Atlantic Coast. The southern part of the Eastern lowlands joins the Central lowlands south of the Appalachian Mountains. It is the oldest portion settled by Europeans.

The United States has many big and small rivers. The Mississippi is one of the world's great rivers. It flows almost 4.000 miles from the Rocky Mountains to the Gulf of Mexico. Two tribu­taries of the Mississippi, the Missouri River and the Ohio River, also rank among the most important rivers of the world. The se­cond largest river to flow into the Gulf of Mexico is the Rio Grande, which forms most of the border between the United States
and Mexico. The rivers, which flow into the Atlantic Ocean are the Saint Lawrence River, which together with the Great Lakes forms the north-eastern part of the US-Canada border, and the Hudson River. New York is situated at the mouth of the Hudson River.

Three great rivers flowing into the Pacific are the Columbia River, the Sacramento River and the Colorado River. The main ri­ver of Alaska, the Yukon River, flows into the Bering Sea. The five Great Lakes in the US-Canada border area make up the largest group of lakes in America and the greatest collection of fresh-water lakes in the world.

The United States has large reserves of different minerals such as iron - Great Lakes region, coal - Kentucky, West Virgi­nia, Pennsylvania, Wyoming; oil and natural gas - California, Texas, Alaska.

1. Read and learn the words by heart.

2. Select the correct words and phrases to complete the follo­wing expressions:

1). The continental part of the USA is washed by the Pacific Ocean... 2). The United States borders on Canada... 3). The Appalachian Mountains are... 4). The Cordillera Highland is... 5). The United States is washed by the Atlantic Ocean... 6). The Colorado flows into... 7). The Sacramento flows into... 8). The Rio Grande flows into... 9). In the west the United States is washed by…10). In the east the United States is washed by…

3. Give English equivalents to:

вторая по величине река; согласно переписи населения 1990 г.; в устье реки Гудзон; большие запасы различных полезных иско­паемых; центральные равнины; собственно территория США; Атлан­тическое побережье; старейший район, заселенный европейцами; крупнейшее в мире скопление пресных вод; природный газ.

5. Make up disjunctive questions to the following sentences:

1. The total area of the USA is 9 mln square kilometres. The present territory of the USA includes three separate parts. 3. The Yukon River flows into the Bering Sea. 4. New York is situated at the mouth of the Hudson River. 5. The Sacramento River and the Colorado River flow into the Pacific.

6. Answer the following questions:

1. How many separate parts does the present territory of the USA include?

2.Is Alaska a state?

3. When did the Hawaiian Islands become a state?
4.What is the population of the USA?

5. What is the continental part of the USA washed by?

6. What country does the USA border on in the south?

7. What does the continental part of the USA consist of?

8. What is the greatest river of the USA?

9. Where does the Mississippi flow into?

10. What are main tributaries of the Mississippi?

11. What river forms most of the border between the United States and Mexico?

12. Where is New York situated?

13. What is the main river of Alaska?

14. What do you know about the Great Lakes?

15. Large reserves of what minerals does the United States have?

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