英语国家社会与文化入门(第三版)下册名词解释

英语国家社会与文化入门(第三版)下册名词解释

1、the first English permanent settlement

was organized in 1607 by the London Company with a charter from the English KJing. The colonists settled in Virginia and survived by imposing strict discipline on themselves and by

transplanting tobacco into the colony of Virginia .In 1619, the settlers elected their delegates and set up the House of Burgesses,and the same time they bought and enslavedblack

servants.These two events greatly influenced the political and social debelopment of the Unite States later

2、 Puritans

were those who followed the doctrine of John Calvin and wanted to purify the Chuurch of

England.They believe that human beings were predestined by God before they were born.Some were God's chosen people while others were damned to hell .No church nor good works could save people.The sign of being God's elect was the success in his oork or the prosperity in his calling.They also argued that everyone must read the Bible in order to find God's will and establish a direct contact with God. These beliefs had great impact on American culture.

3、George Washington

was one of the founding fathers of the American Republic.He was the Commander-in-chief of the Continental Aemy in the War of Independence against the British colonial rule and the first President of the US

4、Benjamin Franklin was one of thefounding fathers of the United States of America.He participated in writing the declaration of independence and making the US Constitution

5、The Declaration of Independence was mainly drafted by Tomas Jefferson and adopted by the Congress on July 4,1776,when the people of 13 English colonies in North America were

fighting for their freedom and independence from the British colonial rule. The document declared that all men were equal and that they were entitled to have some unalineable rights such as

life,liberty and the pursuit of happiness.It also explained the philosophy of government:the power of government came from the consent of the governed and the purpose of governments were to secure the rights mentioned above.The theory of politics and the guiding principles of the Amenrican Revolution mainly came from John Locke

6．The Articles of Confederation :After the War of Independence was won, the new nation of the United States was organized under the agreement of the Articles of Confederation with a weak national government called the Congress. Each state had its own government, made its own laws and handled its internal affairs. The states did not cooperate with the Congress and with each other. The Congress had no power to force any state to contribute money to the

national government and the Congress could not tax any citizen either. As a result, the Articles of Confederation failed.

7．Federal system :A federal system is one in which power is shared between a central authority and its constituent parts, with some rights reserved to each.

8.the making of the U.S Constitution The Articles of Confederation failed. The Congress

decided to hold a constitutional convention to revise the Articles of Confederation. The delegates from 12 states (Rhode Island refused to participated) gathered in Philadelphia in 1787 and end up in writing a new constitution and set a federal system with a strong central government. The Constitution provided that an election of the president would be called for, federal laws would be made only by a Congress made up of the House of Representatives and the Senate and a

Supreme Court would be set up. This new Constitution was finally approved by the majority of the citizens in over 9 of the 13 states and was officially put into effect in 1787 .

9.The executive branch is the president, who is elected to a four-year term. A president can be elected to only two terms according to an amendment passed in 1951. The president can appoint

英语国家社会与文化入门(第三版)下册名词解释

federal judges as vacancies occur. He is the commander in chief of the armed forces. The

president has otherbroad authorities in running the government departments and handling foreign relations.

10. The Bill of Rights consists of the first 10 amendments which were added to the Constitution in 1791. The Bill of Rights was passed to guarantee freedom and individual rights such as

freedom of speech, the right to assemble in public places, the right to own weapons and so on.

11. Eli Whitney is an American inventor who invented the cotton gin, which made removing the seeds from the bolls of cotton much easier. He also began manufacturing rifles with machinery, using interchangeable part. This contributed to the American systemof mass production.

12. Samuel Slater In 1793, Samuel Slater built the first factory in the U.S --- a cotton cloth factory in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. He built the factory from memory, because it was a crime to carry factory plant out of England. The success of his factory started a process of change that turned the northeastern region of the United States into an important manufacturing center and helped the nation become a major cotton producer.

13. Homeland security is short for the United States Department of Homeland

Security(abbreviated as DHS). It is found on March 1,2003, and is a Cabinet department of the United States federal government with the primary responsibilities of protecting the territory of the US from terrorist attacks and responding to natural disasters. With more than 200, 000

employees, DHS is the third largest Cabinet department, after the Departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs. Other agencies with significant homeland security responsibilities include the Department of Health and Human Ser …… 此处隐藏：22664字，全部文档内容请下载后查看。喜欢就下载吧 ……