1. History and political system of the USA

2. The USA the federal republic
consists of 50 states and the District of Columbia

3. The USA
each state has its own government, laws, customs, education, taxes, traffic regulations, etc.
each state government has to keep to the Constitution, which was officially adopted in 1790 by the original 13 states
the federal government is
responsible only for matters
concerning the country as
a whole: foreign affairs,
defence and finance

4. The President the head of the executive power
chosen in nationwide elections every 4 years
elected by people
quite big power
duties - appoints federal judges, ministers and ambassadors
- can veto or refuse
a law
- proposes bills
White House
the seat of the president

5. Donald Trump 45th president of the USA, since January 2017
the oldest and the richest president
successful businessman, no previous experience of politics or military position
Republican party
married 3x

6. The Congress the supreme law-making body in the country
to make federal laws, declare a war and deal with foreign treaties
members - elected in direct election
435 Representatives
100 Senators
the seat - the Capitol

7. The Congress the House of Representatives - elected for 2 years
- each state has the number of representatives
according to its population
the Senate
- elected for 6 years
- 2 members from
each state

8. Political parties two leading parties the Democrats the Republicans
only rarely – 3rd party or independent representatives
Republican Party (logo)
Democratic Party (logo)

9. History of the USA
Match these dates with events
signing the Declaration of Independence
Boston Tea Party
Civil War
discovery of the USA
Wall Street Crash
the War of Independence
1492
1773
1776
1929

10. Discovery and early settlement
formal history of the USA starts in 1492 when Christopher Columbus reached the continent
OR WITH
the prehistory of indigenous
people (Indians) lived in what
is now the US for thousands
of years and developed
complex cultures

11. Christopher Columbus an Italian explorer, navigator and colonizer
born in Italy
completed 4 voyages across the Atlantic Ocean under the auspices of Spanish monarchs
those voyages initiated the Spanish colonization of the New World

12. First colony
st permanent English settlement was founded in Jamestown, Virginia
- named after English king James I
1620 – 102 Pilgrims arrived at Plymouth (Massachusetts)
on the Mayflower
- these people left England in search of religious
freedom
by the late 18th century – there were 13 colonies under the British control

13. Boston Tea Party
1773 – a group of Americans dressed as Indians threw 342 large boxes of tea into the sea

14. The War of Independence
1775 – 1783
all 13 colonies united in a Congress that led to armed conflict
4th July 1776
the Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence
which was written by Thomas Jefferson
it explained the reasons for wanting to be separate from Britain and officially denied colonial obligations to England
it’s considered as the beginning of the USA

15. Franklin, Jefferson, Adams working on the Declaration

16. George Washington 1st American president (1789-97)
he was called ‘the Father of his Country’
he led the army to success in American Revolution
he was elected twice

17. George Washington his memory honoured by the Washington Monument
names of the country’s capital, a state, many
counties, government buildings, schools, streets, ….
his image appears on the dollar note

18. Gold Rush
about people moved to California after gold was discovered there
these people hoped to make fortune
later the gold rush spread to Canada and Alaska

19. Civil War 1861 - 1865 2 main causes – SLAVERY
(should Africans who had been brought by force
to the US be used as slaves???)
– STATE RIGHTS
(should US federal government be more powerful
than the governments of individual states???)

20. Civil War 1861 - 1865 The South – economy based on agriculture (cotton
picking = hard work = > slaves)
The North – economy based on industry
– larger population, wealthier
– slavery was forbidden in the North

21. Abraham Lincoln elected the president in 1860 was against slavery
the North won in 1865
the South became part of
the US
slavery was made illegal
everywhere

22. 20th century
the decade after World War I - the time of wealth and excess, later led to the crash
rural Americans migrated to cities hoping to find better and more prosperous lives, US industry expanded
buying shares became a ‘hobby’ for many Americans (not only for the rich ones; those who didn’t have money took loans from banks because they believed the stock market would rise forever)
in mid October 1929, some financial experts claimed the share are overvalued and people started selling them
unfortunately there was nobody who would buy them => people lost their money (almost 11 mil. dollars suddenly disappeared)

23. Great Depression period of severe economic failure
New York Stock Exchange crashed
it started on October 24th, 1929
October 25th – spread to Europe (Black Friday)
October 29th 1929 = Black Tuesday (about 16 mil. shares traded, the panic of selling reached its peak, there were no buyers - the volume of stocks traded on that day was a record which wasn’t broken for nearly 40 years)
=> many businesses and banks went
bankrupt, hundred thousands
of people lost their jobs, homes,
many of them committed suicides
lasted about 10 years (until 2nd WW)

24. Martin Luther King
the most important leader of the US Civil Rights Movement (famous speech beginning: ‘I have a dream…’)
led a series of peaceful campaigns against segregation in the southern states
awarded the Nobel Peace Price in 1964
murdered in 1968
Bridge September 2013

25. The USA and the terrorism
11th September 2001
series of suicide attacks by al-Qaeda upon the US
4 commercial passenger jet planes hijacked
2 crashed into the Twin Tower in New York City (WTC) – both towers collapsed within 2 hours
1 crashed into the Pentagon
1 crashed into a field in Pennsylvania (however the target was probably the Capitol or the White House)
nearly 3000 victims

27. The USA and the terrorism
the USA responded to the attacks by launching the War on Terror
invaded Afghanistan to depose the Taliban, who had harboured al-Qaeda terrorists