USA

Colony foundations

-the end of the huguenote wars in france , the peace agreement between england and spain , the development of overseas action and the social impact of the rural and urban populations formed the backdoor for the establishment of colonies

-Englishmen and Frenchmen but also Dutchmen and Swedes settled on the american east coast

-colonies were later put under control of the motherland due to growing difficulties

Colony foundations

-emigration and settlement were increasingly shaping the english colonization process

-english kings left the processes of colonization and founding to their subjects

-individuals or companies took over the costs for foundations - for actions and action privileges for areas in the new world

The Mayflower Compact (1620)

-was a signed agreement to ensure peace

between the two groups carried by the Mayflower(a ship) to america

-was written by the colonies before landing at Plymouth Rock

-was the first governing document of the plymouth colony

-specified basic laws

-contains extremely important concepts, that are still important today

French and Indian war (1754-63)

-was an british-french conflict in north america

-native-americans supported france

-was one part of the seven years war

-the british defeated the french , with help of the american colonies

-the peace of paris was signed in 1763

-Consequences:

British territorial changes

British supremacy in North America

self confidence on the side of the british settlers

british crown was short of money

The Stamp Act (1765)

-was passed by the british parliament on March , 1765

-new taxes were imposed to all american colonies and required them to pay a tax on every piece of printed paper , Ships` paper, legal documents, licenses , newspaper etc.

-the money that the british parliament

collected was used to help pay the cost of defending and protecting the American Frontier at the French and Indian war

Stamp act Congress (1765)

-was the first congress of the american colonies

-was held between october 7 and 25 in New York City

-first colonial action against the British measure and was formed to protest the Stamp Act issued by the British Parliament

-was attended by 27 representations of nine of the thirteen colonies

-most important was that they asserted their right to : "No taxation without representation"

Declaration of Independence (1776)

-on June 11,1776 the continental Congress appointed five leaders(from the 13 colonies) , called the five committee

-they wrote a document , why they were declaring their independence and they severed their political connections to great britain

-Thomas Jefferson wrote the first draft over the weeks, and after some changes made by the committee they presented it to the congress

-the declaration summarized the colonists` motivations for seeking independence

-they declared themselve an independent nation, by this they were able to confirm an official alliance with the Government of France and obtain French assistance at the war against Great Britain

Civil war (1861-1865)

-civil war started because the national government wanted to prohibit slavery in territorials that not yet became states

-seven slave states formed a new nation , the Confederate states of America

-northern victory in the war preserved the united states as one nation and ended the slavery

-these achievements came at the cost of 625.000 lives

-was the largest and most destrucitve conflict in the western world

-the real fighting began in 1862

-war ended on May 10,1865

Racism

-began with the conquest of the indians by white settlers

-expulsion of the indians cost the U.S.A 1.500 soldiers and 20 million dollars

-african americans were kept as slaves until 1865, especially in southern states

-they were also a subject for racial segregation

-first laws limiting African-Americans` human rights` were called "Black Codes"

Racial Segregation

-protests against racial segregation began in the mid-fifties

-black refused to give up the seats for the whites

-Martin Luther founded the Southern Christian Leadership Conference

-protests led to abolition of racial segregation in public services

-Washington Post collected deaths related to police violence

-900 deaths were in the last nine months (50% were african-americans and 50% unnamed)

-in comparison : in germany were 7 people killed last year

George Washington

-he became the first president of the USA in 1789

-during his lifetime he was labelled

,,Father of this Country``

-he was also one of the ,,Founding Fathers of the

United States``

-longest running american sitcom -the sitcom was created by Matt Groening in 1989

-the cartoon parodies american culture, society, television and many aspects of the human conditions

-the series is about Homer, Marge, Lisa, Bart and Maggie - an american middle class family

Bill Gates

-current Ceo of the worlds largest personal-computer software company Microsoft

-he is the world richest person (2017)

-the time magazine said , that he is one of the people , who most influenced the 20th century

Muhammed Ali

-native name is Cassius Clay

-he is one of the greatest professional heavy-weight boxers in sports history

-he is not only praised for his skills in the ring, also for the values he expresses out of it: Religious Freedom and Racial Justice

-he converted to the nation of islam, when he was 22 years old

-he became the first and only three-time World-Heavy-Weight champion

Cinema of the U.S.A

-the cinema of the U.S.A is often designated as Hollywood

-the cinema had a profound effect on cinema across the world, since the early 20th century

-since the 1920s the american film industry gained more money every year, than the cinema of any other country

-america produces more than 800 movies every year

-its the oldest cinema industry and birthday place of various genres

Cinema of the U.S.A

-the cinema of the U.S.A inspired film industries across the world

-the maj0r film-studios is the primary source for the most succesful movies and most "ticket-selling-movies", such as Jaws, Star Wars, Avatar etc.

-the highest grossing movies generated more revenue and tickets outside of the U.S.A

School System

-american students visit primary and secondary school for a total of 12 years

-around age six, us childrens begin primary school , which is called "Elementary School"

-they are at the "Elementary School" for around five years

-secondary school is split in two programs:

the first is "junior high school" or "middle school" and the second program is "high school

High School

-the grades have names :

9th - Freshmen

10th - Sophomore

11th - Junior

12th - Senior

-there are many high schools , that teach on a really high level

-high schools believe in another ideal of education

Thanksgiving

-is the fourth thursday in november

-the most americans travel long distances on Thanksgiving, to see their family

-the Thanksgiving dinner almost always includes roast turkey, cranberry sauce, potatoes and pumpkin pie

-the holiday dates back to 1621, the year after the Puritans arrived in Massachusetts, to practice their religion

Sports

-the market of professional sports in the U.S.A is roughly 65 million dollar

-50% larger than the market of all european leagues

-football is the most popular sport in the U.S.A

-the U.S.A has won more medals, than every other country

-skateboarding culture was born in the U.S.A

Sports

-soccer has been increasing in popularity in the recent years

-13 million people are playing soccer in the U.S.A

-soccer is the third most played sport in the U.S.A

-NFL obtains the highest television ratings among major sports

-not many persons are playing football , because it can lead to injuries and braindamages

Statue of Liberty

-is a sculpture on Liberty Island in NYC

-is a gift from the france

-statue was dedicated on October 28, 1886

-It`s a universal symbol for freedom and democracy

-Its a national monument since 1924

-3.2 million visitors every year

- height from ground to torch are 93 meters

Empire State Building

-located in the center of Midtown Manhattan

-was completed in 1931

-has a roof height of 380m and a total height

of 443m

-names origin is from ,,Empire State`` the

nickname of New York

-popular tourist attraction with 4 million

visitors a year

-86th and 102nd floor provides you an

unforgettable 360 view of New York

-is an american culture icon and the building

has been featured in more than 250 tv-shows and movies

World Trade Center

-was located in downtown Manhattan

-were completed in 1973

-on september 11,2001 the World Trade Center became the target of a massive terrorist attack

-that attack took the lives of 3.000 people

-the twin towers and 7 parts of the complex were destroyed at the attack

- a new complex is currently under construction

9/11 memorial

-the 9/11 memorial is a monument for the 3.000 victims of the terrorist attack

-is located on southern Manhattan

-the memorial features two enormous waterfalls and reflecting pools

-names of victims are inscribed on bronze parapets sorrounding the pool

-is a vibrant pulsating city

-largest adult playground

-was created from the wastelands of the Mojave Dessert

-everything in Las Vegas has been done on a grand and spectacular scale

-there are hundreds of entertainment events

Grand Canyon

-located at the Colorado River in Arizona

-446km long , up to 29km wide and 1.6km

deep

-5.5 million visitors each year

-seperated in the south rim, north rim and

the inner canyon

Walk of Fame

-is a group of sidewalks in Hollywood boulevard

and vine street

-there are more than 2400 Stars embedded

into these sidewalks displaying names

-10 million tourists are visiting this sight every year

-There are five different categories of stars:

Movie

TV

Music

Radio

Theatre

Walk of Fame

-each star is made out of Terrazzo and Brass

-on top of a star is the name of the honoree

written and below there is a symbol for the

category

-if someone has his star made, he also gets a

ceremony where he or she unveils the star

-the Walk of Fame was created in 1958

-there were made about 2500 empty stars of

which 1600 were assigned in the first 16 years

-first star was assigned for Joanne Woodward

in february of 1960 in the category films

Venice Beach

-has a lively-boardwalk with a colorful

crowd

-the Venice Beach has influenced

many legendary performers

-there are much attractions and

something appeal to every visitor

-one attraction is the "Muscle Club"

- an outdoor gym where

Arnold Schwarzenegger used to go

-any family will have a wonderful

time at the Venice Beach

Santa Monica Pier

-Santa Monica is famous

for his long beaches

- the pier is located at the Venice Beach

-There is an Amusement park , which is

called Pacific Park

Politics

-a president can only be elected twice

-his/her terms of office are 4 years

-Donald Trump is the 45th president

of the U.S.A

-his responsibilities are governing

the government and implementing

the laws passed by congress

-vice president is the second highest

office in the U.S.A

-the vice president takes over the office - in case the vice president dies or resigns

The Congress

-consists of 435 deputies and 100 senators

-each state provides 2 senators for the congress

-there is no seat in the congress for the president

-responsibilities of the congress are :

-all laws necessary and appropriate for the comprehension of the constitution

-immigration and citizenship laws

-issuing, valuing and protecting the currency