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FACT FILE US 1. General Facts - 50 states (48 contiguous), five insular territories (Puerto Rico, Northern Mariana Islands, US Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa) and minor possessions - states often up into different regions with their own geographic and historic Prof...

FACT FILE US 1. General Facts - 50 states (48 contiguous), five insular territories (Puerto Rico, Northern Mariana Islands, US Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa) and minor possessions - states often up into different regions with their own geographic and historic Profil, regions often associated with certain political attitudes, e.g. West Coast = Left Coast, Bible Belt in the south 2. The USA’s History ~ 15.000 BC: arrival of Native Americans, who, in the following millennia, settle the whole area which is now the USA and form a variety of cultural groups - 1492: Christopher Columbus's arrival in the "New World", starting point for centuries of colonisation and destruction of Native American cultures - 1607: Jamestown, Virginia, first permanent colony to be founded by English settlers - 1619: first African slaves brought to Jamestown (in 17th century and particularly 18th century, hundreds of thousands of Africans are enslaved and mainly work on tobacco and cotton plantations) - 1620: Plymouth Colony is founded by the Pilgrim Fathers, who have arrived on their ship, the Mayflower, (mainly to escape religious persecution) - Massachusetts becomes the Puritans' new home - 17t-19th centuries: settlers and immigration from English, Scottish, German, Dutch, French, Irish descent - 1773: Boston Tea Party: American colonists protest against British taxes by throwing tea from British ships into the harbour ("no taxation without representation") - 1775-1783: American War of Independence/ American Revolution: 13 American colonies (under the leadership of George Washington) fight British troops - 1776, 4 July: the Declaration of Independence is adopted - 1789: George Washington is elected the first president of USA - 1791: Bill of Rights (first ten amendments to the Constitution): individual rights and freedoms for US citizens - 1807: the transatlantic slave trade is officially outlawed, but the domestic trade continues - 19th century: westward expansion of the US: "Manifest Destiny" leads to Native Americans being displaced and killed in large numbers - 1854: opponents of slavery (abolitionists) set up the Republican Party - 1860: Republican candidate Abraham Lincoln is elected president - 1861-1865: American Civil War after eleven pro-slavery southern states seceded from the Union and formed the Confederate States of America - 1865: after the defeat of the Confederates, slavery is abolished under the 13th Amendment - 1865-1960s: phase of segregation and "Jim Crow laws" in southern states, 1896: "separate but equal" facilities deemed constitutional - 1920: 19th Amendment: women are given the right to vote - 1920-1939: Great Depression: period of economic downturn, mass unemployment and poverty, beginning with the Wall Street stock market crash of 1929 - 1945: USA drops two atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan - Japan's surrender marks the end of World War II - 1947: Truman Doctrine (the USA declares it will support nations it deems threatened by communism): beginning of the Cold War with Soviet Union - 1954: racial segregation in schools becomes unconstitutional - 1955: Montgomery bus boycott in answer to Rosa Parks's refusal to give up her seat to a White passenger and her subsequent arrest - 1963: March on Washington; Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech - 1964: Civil Rights Act: aiming to halt discrimination on the grounds of race, colour, religion, nationality - 1964-1975: American troops fighting in the Vietnam War - 1968: Martin Luther King is assassinated - 2001: 9/11 attacks: suicide attacks by al-Qaeda terrorist organisation on World Trade Center and Pentagon, the USA embarks on a "War on Terror" that includes invasions of Afghanistan (2001) and Iraq (2003)  - 2008: the major Wall Street investment bank Lehman Brothers collapses, marking the most serious economic crisis since 1929 - 2008: Democratic Senator Barack Obama becomes the first Black president of the United States - 2013 onwards: Black Lives Matter campaign begins on social media and turns into a global protest phenomenon against racially motivated police brutality - 2016: Donald Trump is elected President - 2021: Joe Biden is inaugurated as President amid stringent security measures two weeks after Trump supporters stormed the Capitol in Washington, D.C. 3. The USA’s politics - inauguration: the ceremonial act of swearing the president into office - impeachment: process by which a state official can be removed from office if they are convicted of unlawful or inappropriate behaviour - Super Tuesday: unofficial name for the day on which many US states hold primary elections and thereby nominate their favourite presidential candidates - electoral college: group of people who elect the US president; they are sent from all states (in varying numbers in proportion to the size of a state's population) and are chosen by popular vote (in most states through a "winner- takes-all" system) - principle of the US Constitution: powers are divided into three branches of government (executive, legislative, judicial) to prevent abuse of power, errors and fraud 1. President: forms the executive (together with his / her Cabinet); elected for four years, can serve a maximum of two terms; elected by the citizens of the USA by indirect vote (via electoral college); very powerful role: both Head of State and Head of the Executive, Commander in Chief of the military, sometimes called a "substitute king" 2. Congress: legislative branch; House of Representatives: number of members per state varies according to a state's population, members elected for two years; Senate: each state sends two senators, senators serve for six years and every two years one-third of the senators are up for election again 3. Supreme Court: judicial branch (together with smaller courts); consists of nine judges, who serve for a lifetime and can only be impeached or resign voluntarily Democrats Rebulicans Symbols: Colour blue Colour red History: founded in 1828, oldest political party founded in 1854; historically the anti- in the world which is still active; slavery party historically rather conservative and supporter of economic liberalism Basic political position: Liberal, more left-wing conservative, more right-wing Basic social ideas: emphasis on community and social emphasis on individual rights and justice responsibility Some political standpoints: - higher tax rates for higher income - taxes as low as possible for everyone - mainly support for gay marriage - military spending should be increased - abortion should remain legal - mainly opposed to gay marriage - government regulations are seen as - abortion should not be legal necessary to protect the consumers - government regulations hinder free - support for universal health care market and job growth - climate change considered threat - prefer private healthcare solutions - pathway to citizenship for certain - climate change rather low priority undocumented immigrants supported - support for stronger enforcement measures at the borders  4. USA society - one of the most culturally diverse countries in the world because since colonialisation a country of immigrants; experience of indigenous Americans and African Americans often overlooked Arguments by opponents of immigrantion Possible counterarguments o Security argument: immigrants bring crime. - Statistics prove that the crime rates among o Immigrants take away jobs from native-born immigrants are not higher. workers. - Immigrants often work in sectors where their o Immigrants are a burden on the budget, the workforce is urgently needed. welfare system and the economy. - Immigrants bring an economic stimulus and increase o Immigrants endanger important cultural values in tax revenue (even undocumented immigrants pay and social unity because of their different some taxes, but do not profit from benefits). political and religious worldviews. - Most immigrants show great motivation to integrate and identify with American values. Multiculturalism enriches American society. - Irrational fears often exaggerated and exploited by - American success story due to immigration to a large populists extend Melting pot Salad bowl Origin Definition of - Various religious sects, nationalities and ethnic - Like ingredients in a salad, various groups coexist in metaphor groups are fused into one distinct people. their separate identities. - The idea of unity is fostered by beliefs and ideals, - All "ingredients" are important to make the salad not by race, blood or sect. taste as it does. - In the case of conflict, the former identity or - The "ingredients" are bound together only by the customs have to be modified or discarded. "dressing" of law and the market. Similar ideas E pluribus unum (out of many, one – seal of US) Cultural mosaic Criticism favors a homogenous society, diversity is not favors a multicultural society, encourages diversity, encouraged and everyone has to adjust/ assimilate but can lead to parallel societies 4.1 Central concepts of American identity American Dream - origin of the term: James Truslow Adams (1931): "dream of a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement? - promises from the beginning of colonisation: free land and space; possibility of starting a new life, leaving everything else behind; opportunity of self-realisation to one's full capacity; society of equal opportunities, open to everyone independent of social status or origin; freedom to pursue one's happiness/individualism; recognition of the individual based on his or her achievements ("meritocracy") - attractive to immigrants (cf. symbol of the Statue of Liberty and Emma Lazarus's poem, "The New Colossus", "Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.. - popular myths and ideals: "from rags to riches", "from dishwasher to millionaire", "the self-made man" - main aspects: material well-being/ economic success / prosperity; social order offering liberty, equality and political participation - American Dream or American Nightmare? o unlimited opportunities and space at the Native Americans' expense o social mobility and equality only a myth: USA one of the least socially mobile societies in the world (e. g. high cost of good edu-cation), (racial) minorities are not given equal opportunities o the ideology that hard work, sacrifice and risk-taking are the only prerequisites for prosperity/success can lead to self- blame for (maybe undeserved) failures and is used as a common argument against social security measures (downside of individualism: lack of solidarity / kind of ruthlessness) All men are created equal - one of the central statements of the Declaration of Independence (1776) - Declaration of Independence made by slave owners (e.g. Thomas Jefferson): contradiction between the supposed equality of all human beings and the social/ economic reality in the early republic - lasting impact of the phrase, which is understood as claiming equal rights and opportunities for every human being/American citizen (cf. American Dream) - women's rights movement, Civil Rights Movement and Black Lives Matter refer to the phrase to demand equal rights - the equality of rights and opportunities is still not the case in US so-ciety: formal equality but de facto discrimination of certain groups (e. g. African Americans' disadvantages in education, housing, on the job market, etc.) Manifest Destiny and frontier spirit - phrase "Manifest Destiny" coined in 1845 - idea that the United States is destined by Providence/God to spread democracy, progress and freedom (American exceptionalism: role model character of the USA, innate morality and value of the American democracy) - motivated 19th-century US territorial expansion and was used to justify the forced removal of Native Americans - frontier = the boundary between the area already settled by westward moving European Americans and "uncivilised" Native Americans" land; the term is also used to denote a certain state of mind (*frontier spirit"): courageous settlers encountering the unknown and living under very harsh circumstances but finally "mastering" the land - legacy of Manifest Destiny: USA as "global police", self-proclaimed leader of the "Free World" - legacy of "frontier spirit": celebration of unapologetic individualism (e. g. resistance to gun control, rejection of organised social se-curity, etc.) 4.2 Gun ownership and gun control - Only a small minority of US states have strict laws restricting gun ownership (e.g. California, Illinois, Connecticut, New Jersey, New York, Hawaii, Maryland, Massachusetts). - Gun ownership and gun control are very controversial issues, especially in the wake of mass shootings. Yet the NRA (National Rifle Association) and its supporters are against all types of gun control. - 73 % of all killings in the USA are gun-related, compared to 4 % in England and Wales, 39 % in Canada and 22 % in Australia. - Per 100 residents, there are 120 guns in the USA. - historical background: Second Amendment to the US Constitution: "A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed." Advocates of stricter gun control Opponents of stricter gun control - The Second Amendment is not an unlimited right - Gun control would infringe upon the constitutional to own and carry guns, as it was linked to a right to bear arms. "well regulated Militia". - Gun control laws do not deter crime; gun - More gun control laws would reduce gun deaths ownership deters crime ("The only way to stop a (also accidental deaths). Countries with restrictive bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun."). gun control laws have lower gun homicide and - Gun control laws infringe upon the right of self- suicide rates than the United States. defence. This is contradictory to the American - Guns are rarely used in self-defence. value of individualism (cf. - The availability of weapons for everyone fosters a "frontier spirit ). general spirit of violence and the perception of - Gun control laws are a means to control people being constantly threatened by others. and give too much power to the government (guns supporting democracy). Unlimited gun ownership is dangerous. Limiting gun ownership means limiting freedom.  4.3 Death penalty - synonym: punishment - About 60% of all Americans support the death penalty. - In more than half of all US states, capital punishment is still legal, although it is formally suspended in some of them. - In contrast, the European Union is strictly opposed to capital punishment, the Charter of Fundamental Rights includes an absolute ban on the death penalty in all circumstances Arguments for death penalty Arguments against death penalty - It is an effective form of deterrent (without - According to statistics, it is not an effective form of the death penalty, a state could be perceived deterrent. as weak). - Mainly because of longer trials and more appeals, - The death penalty is supposed to cost the it is in fact more expensive than life imprisonment government less than life imprisonment without parole. without parole. - The death penalty is a form of revenge: its "eye- - The death penalty is a just punishment for for-an-eye" mentality is barbaric. crimes that violate the victims' rights to life, - Innocent people might be killed (miscarriages of freedom and safety. justice). - Modern methods of crime scene science can - It perpetuates an angry state of grief (vicious circle effectively prove someone's guilt or of violence) innocence. - It offers no chance of rehabilitation for convicted - It provides closure for the victims" families. criminals; mentally ill people might be executed - It offers convicted criminals no chance of instead of treated. escape and thereby prevents them from - It is racially biased and anti-poor (Black people are repeating their crimes. more likely to be sentenced to death; a lot of money is necessary for a good legal defence). It’s a fair punishment for some crimes. The death penalty is inhuman.