History Geography and Culture of the USA Australia

History, Geography and Culture of the USA, Australia and New Zealand © Белоусова Т. Ф. , Папазова К. А.

The USA Lecture 6.

Plan 1. 2. 3. Symbols of the USA. The Political Set-Up. The Way of Life.

Symbols of the USA • The Flag of the USA • The Coat-of-Arms of the USA • The Hymn of the USA

First flag • At the time of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, July 4, 1776, the United States had no official national flag. The Grand Union Flag has historically been referred to as the "First National Flag"; although it has never had any official status, it was used early in the American Revolutionary War by George Washington and formed the basis for the design of the first official U. S. flag.

The "Betsy Ross" flag • Betsy Ross (1752 – 1836), Pennsylvania, has been widely credited with • (приписывать) making the first American flag. The Flag Resolution did not specify any particular arrangement, number of points, nor orientation for the stars. The pictured flag shows 13 outwardly-oriented fivepointed stars arranged in a circle, the so-called Betsy Ross flag. Although the Betsy Ross legend is controversial, the design is among the oldest of any U. S. flags.

The flag of the USA The USA flag has been changed 26 times since the new, 13 -state union adopted it. The 48 -star version went unchanged for 47 years, until the 49 -star version became official on July 4, 1959 (the first July 4 following Alaska's admission to the union on January 3, 1959). The 47 -years of the 48 -star version was the longest time the flag went unmodified until July 5, 2007, when the current 50 -star version of the Flag of the United States broke the record.

The Coat-of-Arms of the USA

The hymn of the USA Lyrics O! say can you see by the dawn's early light What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming? Whose broad stripes and bright stars through the perilous fight, O'er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming? And the rockets' red glare, the bombs bursting in air, Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there. O! say does that star-spangled banner yet wave O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave? On the shore, dimly seen through the mists of the deep, Where the foe's haughty host in dread silence reposes, What is that which the breeze, o'er the towering steep, As it fitfully blows, half conceals, half discloses? Now it catches the gleam of the morning's first beam, In full glory reflected now shines in the stream: 'Tis the star-spangled banner! Oh long may it wave O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave. And where is that band who so vauntingly swore That the havoc of war and the battle's confusion, A home and a country should leave us no more! Their blood has washed out their foul footsteps' pollution. No refuge could save the hireling and slave From the terror of flight, or the gloom of the grave: And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave. O! thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand Between their loved home and the war's desolation! Blest with victory and peace, may the heav'n rescued land Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation. Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just, And this be our motto: 'In God is our trust. ' And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave! • Francis Scott Key's original manuscript copy of his "Star. Spangled Banner" poem. It is now on display at the Maryland Historical Society.

• "The Star-Spangled Banner" is the national anthem of the United States of America. The lyrics come from "Defence of Fort Mc. Henry", a poem written in 1814 by the 35 year-old amateur poet Francis Scott Key after witnessing the bombardment of Fort Mc. Henry by Royal Navy ships during the Battle of Baltimore in the War of 1812.

O! say can you see by the dawn's early light What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming? Whose broad stripes and bright stars through the perilous fight, O'er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming? And the rockets' red glare, the bombs bursting in air, Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there. O! say does that star-spangled banner yet wave O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?

The Political Set-Up

The Political Set-Up The Legislative Branch: The Congress The House of Senate Representative (100 (435 Senators) Representatives) The Executive The Branch: Judicial Branch: The President, Supreme Court Vice. President, the Cabinet 14 Executive Departments & 6 Independent Agencies The Chief Justice & 8 Associate Justices

The west face of the US Capitol The United States Capitol is the meeting place of the US Congress, the legislature of the Federal government of the United States. Located in Washington, D. C. , it sits atop Capitol Hill at the eastern end of the National Mall. Though not in the geographic center of the District of Columbia, the Capitol is the origin by which the quadrants of the District are divided. Officially, both the east and west sides of the Capitol are referred to as "fronts". Historically, however, the east front was the side of the building intended for the arrival of visitors and dignitaries (['dɪgnɪt(ə)rɪ] сановник, лицо, занимающее высокий пост ).

The Senate side of the US Capitol

• The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral ([baɪ'kæm(ə)rəl] двухпалатный) United States Congress, the lower house being the House of Representatives. The composition and powers of the Senate and the House are established in Article One of the U. S. Constitution (which does not use the terms "upper" and "lower"). Each U. S state is represented by two senators, regardless of population. The total number of senators is fixed at 100. The presiding officer of the House is Vice. President. This ensures equal representation of each state in the Senate. Senators serve six-year terms. The chamber of the United States Senate is located in the north wing of the Capitol building, in Washington, D. C. , the national capital.

A class photo of the 110 th United States Senate

• The United States House of Representatives, commonly referred to as the "House, " is the lower house of the bicameral United States Congress, the upper house being the United States Senate. The composition and powers of the House and the Senate are established in Article One of the Constitution. Each state receives representation in the House in proportion to its population but is entitled to at least one Representative. The most populous state, California, currently has 53 representatives. The total number of voting representatives is currently fixed at 435. Each representative serves for a two-year term. The presiding officer of the House is the speaker, and is elected by the members of the House. The House of Representatives convenes ([kən'vi: n] созывать, собирать) in the south wing of the same building.

• Barack Hussein Obama • [bə’rɑ: k hu’seɪn oʊ’bɑ: mə] born August 4, 1961) is the 44 th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office, as well as the first born in Hawaii. Obama previously served as the junior United States Senator from Illinois from January 2005 until he resigned after his election to the presidency in November 2008. The President earns a $400, 000 annual salary, along with a $50, 000 annual expense account, a $100, 000 nontaxable travel account and $19, 000 for entertainment. Retired presidents now receive a pension based on the salary of the current administration's cabinet secretaries, which is $191, 300 now.

The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the President of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D. C. , it was built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted sandstone in the late Georgian style and has been the residence of every U. S. President since John Adams. When Thomas Jefferson moved into the home in 1801, he (with architect Benjamin Henry Latrobe) expanded the building outward, creating two colonnades which were meant to conceal stables and storage.

Executive Departments State Activities Treasury Foreign policy; treaties Tax collection; money Defence Military advice; Army, Navy, Air Force Justice Legal advice; immigration & naturalization service Nation Parks; American Indians Interior Agriculture Commerce Labour Health & Human Services Farming, food inspection Business; trade Rights of workers; job training Health services; social security Housing & Urban Developing Housing; city planning Transportation Travel safety; road, air, train travel Education Energy Schools; financial aid Energy research; energy conservation Veterans Affairs financial aid; VA hospitals

Agencies Environmental protection Agency (EPA) National Security Council (NSC) Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) National Aeronautic & Space Administration (NASA) U. S. Postal Service Commission Civil Rights Responsibility helps stop pollution assesses & appraises objectives, commitments & risks of U. S. in interests of national security coordinates intelligence activities by making recommendations to the NSC plans the space programme delivers mail helps stop discrimination

• This is a logo for Republican Party (United States). The traditional mascot (['mæskət] талисман) of the party is the elephant. A political cartoon by Thomas Nast, published in Harper's Weekly on November 7, 1874, is considered the first important use of the symbol. • The most common mascot symbol for the party is the donkey. According to the Democratic National Committee, the party itself never officially adopted this symbol but has made use of it.

• The Supreme Court of the USA is the highest judicial body in the United States, and leads the federal judiciary ([ʤu: 'dɪʃ(ə)rɪ] устройство судебной системы). It consists of the Chief Justice of the United States and eight Associate Justices, who are nominated by the President and confirmed with the "advice and consent" (majority vote) of the Senate. Once appointed, Justices effectively have life tenure ([' tenjuə] срок пребывания), serving "during good Behaviour", which terminates only upon death, resignation, retirement, or conviction on impeachment. The Court meets in Washington, D. C. in the United States Supreme Court building. The Supreme Court is primarily an appellate court ([ə'pelət] апелляционный суд), but it has original jurisdiction over a small range of cases.

Checks and Balances (система сдержек и противовесов (принцип взаимозависимости и взаимоограничения ветвей государственной власти) • • The U. S. Constitution provides for three main branches of government: legislative, executive and judicial. The powers given to each are carefully balanced by the powers of the other two. Each branch serves as a check on the others. This is to keep any branch from gaining too much power or from misusing its powers. Congress has the power to make laws, but the President may veto any act of Congress, in its turn, can override a veto by a twothirds vote in each house. Congress can also refuse to provide funds requested by the President. The President can appoint important officials of his administration, but they must be approved by the Senate. The President also has the power to name all federal judges; they, too, must be approved by the Senate. The courts have the power to determine the constitutionality of all acts of Congress and of Presidential actions, and to strike down those they find unconstitutional. The system of checks and balances makes compromise and consensus necessary. This system protects against extremes. It means, for example, that new Presidents cannot radically change governmental policies just as they wish.

The Way of Life

Martin Luther King Liza Minnelli Thomas Edison Elvis Presley Woody Allen Michael Jordan

A Typical American Residence

• • • The Cathedral of St. John the Divine, officially the Cathedral Church of Saint John the Divine in the City and Diocese of New York, is nicknamed St. John the Unfinished and The White Elephant Of The Upper West Side. Located at 1047 Amsterdam Avenue in Manhattan's Morningside Heights, the cathedral is claimed to be the largest Cathedral and Anglican church and fourth largest Christian church in the world. The inside covers more than half a city block, with 121, 000 sq ft (1. 12 ha), spanning a length of 183. 2 meters (601 ft) and height 70. 7 meters (232 ft). The cathedral, designed in 1888 and begun in 1892, has, in its history, undergone radical stylistic changes and the interruption of the two World Wars. Originally designed as Byzantine. Romanesque, the plan was changed after 1909 to a Gothic design. After a large fire on December 18, 2001, it was closed for repairs and reopened in November 2008. It remains unfinished, with construction and restoration a continuing process.

• The Empire State Building is a 102 - story landmark Art Deco skyscraper in New York City at the intersection of Fifth Avenue and West 34 th Street. Its name is derived from the nickname for the state of New York. It stood as the world's tallest building for more than forty years, from its completion in 1931 until construction of the World Trade Center's North Tower was completed in 1972. Following the destruction of the World Trade Center in 2001, the Empire State Building once again became the tallest building in New York City and New York State.