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1. How many states in the US? 50states
2. Which is the largest state in the main land? Texas
3. Which is the largest state in the whole country? Alaska
4. The youngest state of the US Hawaii
5. How many colonies? The name of three parts. 13
New England
Middle Atlantic States South Atlantic States
6. Try to describe the location of America. Northern Hemisphere North pacific Gulf of Mexico
North Atlantic Ocean Mexico Canada
7. Three division geographically. Highlands Plain
Mountains
8. The backbone of the America. - The highest peak. Rocky & Mount Mitchell 9. The father of the water. Mississippi River
10. The great lakes Superior River Michigan River Huron River Erie River
Ontario River 11. Crater Lake – The Deepest
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12. The highest peak outside Alaska Mount Whitney
13. The capital city of America & the famous river in Washington D.C Washington D.C & the Potomac River
14. The largest city in the US & the famous river in New York New York & the Hudson River 15. The Melting Pot
It is metaphorically used to refer to the United States because it is a country of many ethnic groups from different parts of the world, who came to the New World to seek for freedom in politics or religion. They have been dissipating their different ethic cultures toward some “standard” by living and working together in the “melting pot” of the United States and gradually forming a new nation. 16. The first colony
White Anglo-Saxon Protestants (WASPs) 17. The first west people Anglo Saxon
18. The largest ethnic-racial minority group African-American
19. The freedom of black people
Lincoln & Emancipation of Declaration in 1863 20. Hispanics refer to Spanish
21. The Constitution
Was framed in Philadelphia in 1787 and ratified in 1789. This is the first constitution in the world. 22. Check and balance
The Constitution follows two principles: the federal system & the “separation of powers.”
Two principles: federal; state principle for local Three divisions:
23. The position of President Commandeer-in-chief
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Head of state Chief executive
24. The power of president
The President has a veto power over bills passed by Congress.
The President has the power of appointing as many as thousands of officers.
The President has the power to conduct foreign affairs.
The President can make executive agreements with other countries without the approval of the Senate. 25. The power of congress
Congress has the power to make any laws that are considered “necessary and proper.”
Congress has the power to impose taxes, decide the expenditures of the government, control trade with foreign nations, and establish and protect a monetary system.
Congress has the power to raise and maintain an army and a navy and declare war upon other countries. 26. Departments
Speaker of the House of Representatives 众议院长 President pro tempore of the Senate参议院临时主席 Secretary of State国务卿
Secretary of the Treasury财政部长 Secretary of Defense 国防部长
Attorney General 司法部长;最高法院院长 Postmaster General 邮政总长 Secretary of the Interior 内政部长 Secretary of Agriculture 农业部长 Secretary of Commerce 商业部长 Secretary of Labor 劳工部长
27. Five steps of Presidential Election
1. Primary (from February to June of the Election Year)
This is the election of delegates to the national conventions of the two parties.
2. The National Conventions
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(in July or August)
Tasks:
To discuss and accept the party platform
To choose the presidential and vice presidential candidates 3. The Election Campaign
(from September to November) 4. The Election Day
(On the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November in an election year)
5. Casting the Electoral Vote
(the first Monday after the second Wednesday of December in an election year)
28. The significance of discovery of new world. Positive effects:
Widen people’s horizon
Opened up fresh ground for the rising bourgeoisie
Promoted the development of commerce, sea navigation and industry, and provided the way for the rapid development of early capitalism Passive effect :
After the discovery of the New World, the European powers sent many explorers to the new continents and they began to compete against each other in occupying the New World. 29. The May Flower Compact
Mayflower Compact was the plan of government sighted on the Mayflower by 41 English settlers off Cape Cod, on November 11, 1620, before landing and founding their settlement at Plymouth. The Mayflower Compact was a plan for a democratic society, and was a model for later colonies; its ideas lie behind (为某事的理由) the US Constitution of 1789.
30. The cause of the French Indian war
(1756-1763) Britain began to compete with France over the fur trade in the Ohio Valley
The result: The Treaty of Paris in 1763 ended the French and Indian
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War and forced France to relinquish to Great Britain all her lands extending westward to the Mississippi River. 31. 1774 - First Continental Congress
The first Continental Congress assembled in Carpenters' Hall, Philadelphia
55 representatives from all the colonies except Georgia
The motto of the colonies was “No taxation without representation.” 32. Shock in Lexiton
33. the significance of Independence War: The American revolution was an event of great historic importance:
It gave the colonies their right to national independence and assured US capitalism of a free development.
The direct social change brought about by the Revolution was the emancipation of slaves who fought against the British.
It was the first large-scale revolutionary movement of the colonial people against national oppression for political and economic emancipation. Its victory greatly encouraged the people in the Latin American colonies ruled by the Spanish and other colonies in the world. 33. The Second Continental Congress 1775
In May, 1775, the Second Continental Congress was held with representatives from all 13 colonies, which lasted throughout the whole war. 34. Civil War
i: The Background of Civil War: ①The Territorial Expansion
②The Economic Expansion
③Economic Antagonism between the North and the South ④Disputes over Slavery
ii:6 Steps of the Territorial Expansions: ①the Treaty of Paris
②The Louisiana Purchase ③occupied Florida
④Mexican-US War (1846-1848) ⑤Oregon Region from England
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