THE AMERICAN CIVILIZATION

Note : 4 ouvrages utiles deux en franais et deux en anglais sur la civilisation amricaine et sa langue vous sont offerts la fin de ce livre.

I/ Introduction (GEOGRAPHY) :
The United States of America is one of the largest countries in the world. Its with a superficy of around 9,630,000 km (4500 X 2500) seventeen times as big as France. Its mainly composed of wide open spaces that have attracted immigrants and have shaped the national identity. The distance between San Francisco on the west coast and Boston on the east coast is greater than the distance from Nantes to Moscow. The USA is also further south than Europe; Here are some other geographical references: - Miami is on the same parallel of latitude as Canary Islands, - Washington // Lisbon, - Seattle // Nantes.

The Mainland owns 48 states, but as you must know, the Star-Spangled Banner has 50 stars, representing the 50 states; the two others being Alaska (49th) and Hawaii (50th), both became US states lately, in 1959. At 3.79 million square miles (9.83 million km) and with over 300 million people, the United States is the fourth largest country by total area, and third largest by land area and by population. The United States are one of the world's most ethnically diverse nations, the product of large-scale immigration from many countries.The US economy is the largest national economy in the world, with a nominal 2006 gross domestic product (GDP) of more than US$13 trillion (over 19% of the world total).

The nation was founded by thirteen colonies of Great Britain located along the Atlantic seaboard. Proclaiming themselves "states," they issued the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. The rebellious states defeated Britain in the American Revolutionary War, the first successful colonial war of independence. A federal convention adopted the current United States Constitution on September 17, 1787; its ratification the following year made the states part of a single republic. The Bill of Rights, comprising ten constitutional amendments, was ratified in 1791. In the nineteenth century, the United States acquired land from France, Spain, Mexico, and Russia, and annexed the Republic of Texas and the Republic of Hawaii. Disputes between the agrarian South and industrial North over states' rights and the expansion of the institution of slavery provoked the American Civil War of the 1860s. The North's victory prevented a permanent split of the country and led to the end of slavery in the United States. The SpanishAmerican War and World War I confirmed the nation's status as a military power. In 1945, the United States emerged from World War II as the first country with nuclear weapons, a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, and a founding member of NATO. The United States emerged from the Cold War to become, at least briefly, the only superpower in the postCold War era and the dominant economic, political, and cultural force in the world.

We can distinguish 3 important ranges (=chains) of mountains, running all from the North to the South : - The Appalachian mountains (or the Appalachia; in eastern America, from Alabama to Canada), - The Rocky mountains (often called the Rockies, in western North America), - The Sierra Nevada (in California, and before the Death Valley). In the past, all were real obstacles to colonization; they were a natural barrier that settlers could not overcome. Regarding water areas; the USA have got lakes and rivers which were, as opposition to mountains, natural highways to settlement: - The Mississippi river (4 times Loire), and its tributary: the Missoury, even longer than it (Loire x5, both run on about 6000 km),

this river system runs all along the middle of the USA, from the northern plains to the Gulf of Mexico ; - The 5 Great Lakes, between Canada and the USA: the Lake Superior, the Michigan, the Huron, the Erie and the Lake Ontario, they are as great as inner seas, but are made of fresh water, forming thereby the largest body of fresh water in the world. They are linked together through straits and rivers; the connexions have been fitted out permitting to boats to navigate. About climates : the USA is dominated by a harsh continental climate, and the weather is conditioned by two main factors: - The presence of the Rockies and the Sierra Nevada which keeps most of the country under cover from rain and humidity (limited influence of the ocean) ; - The absence in the North and the South of mountains which allows drafts such as hot wet air coming from Central America (& Florida) in summer and cold air coming down from Canada in winter. So, generally, we say the West side is a rather dry area while the East side is a wet area. Now, lets see more precisely the different climates: - The USA is divided in two parts on the 100 west longitude : - to the West : - East of Sierra Nevada : - North : dry continental climate with hot summers and cold winters, - South-west : desert (the hottest place on earth (56,7C worlds highest temp.) the Death Valley) ; - West of Sierra Nevada : - North-west : oceanic, rainy climate, - South-west : Mediterranean, dry climate ; - to the East : - North-East : wet temperate climate ; - North : rainy ; - South : (humid) sub-tropical climate.

Natural hazards : The USA is the 4th largest territory in the world, so, needless to say that implies that lots of areas are liable to natural dangers : - in the South-East, hurricanes are pretty common (Katrina, etc.), - in the Middle-West, winters with many snow falls that cripple the circulation, lightning storms (also in Florida & Mojave desert), - around the Mississippi basin, floods (at least every 10 years), and tornadoes (every single year), - in the North-West and Alaska, the worlds biggest and most active volcanoes (also in Hawaii), earthquakes (+California, Missouri, and South Carolina). Concerning urbanization, the USA is considered as an urban country since about 1920. In its past, there have been 4 major periods during which cities got developed: - 1900-1950: growth of big cities: NY, Chicago, & LA (with skyscrapers erections, development of suburbs and automobiles) ; - 1950-1970: explosion of suburbs, meaning middle classes leave centers to live in more and more industrialised suburbs ; - 1970-1990: people abandon suburbs to live in countryside, near the cities ; - Since 1990: the process seems to get reversed: people want to come back in gentrified centers (especially the richest people who push out middle class people to old suburbs), neighborhoods are rehabilitated and prices go up. The 3 major cities, N.Y. (20 million inhabitants), L.A. (15.5) and Chicago (8.6), have formed megalopolis, creating an unbalanced repartition of the population in the countryside. They also constitute world financial centers.

The belts : The manufacturing center of the USA is located in the North-East (NY, Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Illinois) where the first factories were established. Despite successive crises which made it decline, this area remains the heart of manufacturing and is now called the Rust belt. Before crises, there was of the manufacturing workers, and nowadays this figure is about 45%. It was named the Manufacturing belt and industries located there supplied the Allies with various material during the WWII. Still, there are to be found the major manufacturing centers (iron, steel, plastic, rubber, food processing...)

The rest of workers followed firms that moved to the Sun belt (phenomenon since the 60s), in the South-West and notably California. There were 2 reasons: the land prices were rather low and there were no trade unions, so the workforce was cheap. Now the West owns 10% of the industries, but this number is more and more increasing. The evolution also shows that Texas and Louisiana are becoming new important industrial areas (especially regarding chemicals). Agriculture: There are three major forms of agriculture: the agri-business, the traditional farms and the uncultivated lands. The first type is practiced with mighty corporations or enormous farms which have taken control of agriculture in California (fruits, vegetables), in Florida (citrus & grape fruits), in Texas (cattle, cotton), in Hawaii (citrus fruits, sugarcane) and in the Columbia river valley (fruits). The second type, the family farmings, is to be found in the Midwest (corn in Iowa, Ohio, and Illinois), in North & South Dakota, Nebraska and Kansas (wheat), in Wisconsin and the Northern Appalachia (dairy cattle), in the Tobacco belt, i.e. North & South Carolina, Georgia and Alabama (tobacco, poultry) and is also widespread around big cities.

HISTORY
I/ The political system : A/ The Constitution :
The american political democracy is based on the Constitution. Its been written in 1787. Its the worlds oldest written constitution still in use. Americans feel reverent toward their Constitution and estimate its a good model (since it works at least). Still, its an imperfect document. For instance, the original document said that afro-Americans, Indians, women and white men who didnt own a property were second class citizens, meaning they were inferior in status to white men owning a property. But the Consitution is changeable, and Americans have changed it. They were amazed to see how a group of rich white men could have written a document that was still used today. They often consider it as a modern version of the 10 commandments.

Four years later, in 1791, a first group of 10 amendments has been voted. Its known as the Bill of rights. It guaranties basic democratic rights such as freedom of speech, of the press, of religion, and right to have a fair trial. Most americans are familiar with the rights they have. Since then, 17 other amendments have been voted, including abolishing slavery, giving citizenship to afro-Americans, right to vote to women, limiting the number of times a person can become president. Although it has changed a lot, Americans feel the original democratic spirit of the Constitution is still alive. One of the basic ideas of the Constitution is the division of the political power. Americans thought of the British King he was a tyrant and, after the independence, they wanted to make sure no one could concentrate all political powers into its hands.

B/ Federal and State Governments, the divided Sovereignty :

Divided Sovereignty means division between national government and federal government. The USA is a federal republic (50 states). According to the Constitution, all powers that are not explicitly given to the national government are kept by state ones. At the beginning, the national government was responsible for four points: - The foreign policy - The national defense - The international commerce - The inter-state commerce The state governments were responsible for everything else. They were more important than the national one. Nowadays, the situation is reversed. The industrial revolution and the division of the world into spheres of interest made a strong national government necessary. The turn took place in the late 19th century. Still, state governments keep many powers. Each state has its own constitution, three branches of government, a legislature, a governor (who enforces the laws) and a judicial system. State laws are different from one state to another, obviously. There are differences in the criminal justice system, school system, health system, tax laws, welfare, etc.

C/ The system of checks and balance :

The Constitution divides the national government into three branches : the legislative one, the judicial and the executive one. Each one limits the powers of the other two so that no branch can hold all political powers ; for instance: - Legislative power can remove the president if he abuses of his powers - Judicial power can stop the legislative from making unconstitutional laws - Executive power (the president) can veto laws

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# Important points of the System of checks and balances: In 1619 the first blacks came to America as indentured servants on Dutch boats: they sold their services for no wage for a certain time so that their passageway to America would be paid for. In 1788, the constitution was adopted; in 1789 it was put into effect. The preamble establishes equality, peace, tranquillity and justice. There were 6 main points: Form a more

perfect Union, (out of the 13 first colonies in the North), establish justice (everyone is equal before the law), ensure domestic tranquillity, provide for the common defence, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity. The early drafters soon realised that there had to be a system through which the power could be diffused. The president nominates federal judges and can refuse to enforce the courts decisions, but the court can declare presidential actions unconstitutional. The president proposes laws and can veto congressional legislation, he makes treaties and can refuse to enforce congressional legislation, but the congress can override a presidential veto, remove or impeach the president, the Senate must confirm presidential appointments, and must ratify the treaties, the congress provides funds for the presidents programs. The Supreme Court can declare congressional laws unconstitutional but the congress can rewrite legislation to circumvent the Courts decisions. The Senate confirms federal judges. Thus, everybody has their hands tied. There is also the question of Federal rights vs. State rights: People from the South tend to want more State rights than in the North, should the federal government be strong or weak? The constitution starts with the words: We the people of the United States which refers mostly to white males with property. The right to vote used to be very limited. All the branches of the government are very complicated. The executive is composed by the President and his numerous cabinet members, and the legislative branch by the House of Representatives and the Senate, which are the two chambers of the Congress. The Senate is composed by two senators from each State (100) who keep their job for six years, but they can be re-elected. Then, Supreme Court judges have a life time job. One third of the Senate is elected every year. The House of Representatives includes 435 members, each of whom are elected for 2 years, and can be re-elected. The number of representatives per State depends on the number of inhabitants of the State. The Congress introduces bills, impeaches the president, can admit new States to the Union, declare wars (not the Vietnam War), and start investigation (like in the case of the Watergate). It also deals with taxes and immigration. Bills have to be voted on by both Houses. Then it goes to the president who signs it, vetoes it or does nothing, in which case, the law pass after a while. The president issues executive orders, he can vote legislation thats passed by the congress, he will appoint federal judges, can grant pardon for offences. He has influence over both the Congress and the Supreme Court. The choice of the Supreme Court judges is important because the president chooses judges who have the same beliefs as he does, and who is therefore likely to help make decision accordingly. Ronald Reagan nominated a woman, Sandra Day OConnor, who was considered to be a bad choice by right-wing people, since she was in favour of abortion. When certain issues are at stake, the political opinion of the Supreme Court judges becomes very important. A president nominates these judges, but the Senate has to confirm his appointments. If the president does something wrong, he is impeached by the Supreme Court: They work together with the executive branch. If the Congress tries to pass a law and the president tries to veto it, the Congress can override that veto by a 2/3 majority of its members. The Supreme Court can also declare a law unconstitutional: thats where the final decision of whether the law is passed or not lies.

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D/ The legislative branch : the Congress : 7

The writers of the Constitution believed that people should democratically control their government. Representatives of the people should play the main role. Therefore, the legislative branch is the most important one in the original Constitution. This power is incorporated in the Congress, thats divided into two houses: - The House of Representatives (representing people who live in their district) - The Senate (representing the states they are elected from) Both houses are directly elected by the people.

D.1/ The House of Representatives :

It counts 435 members. Each congressman represents more or less the same number of people. Therefore, states which have a large population (New York, California) have many representatives, whereas those who have a small population (Alaska) have a very few. Every ten years, a census counts the number of people and congressional districts are redrawn to reflect changes in the population. Lately, people have moved away from North-East, and consequently, states in the North-East have fewer representatives than they used to. Since congressmen represent people, its felt people should be able to contro them. Therefore, a congressman is elected only for 2 years. The possibility to change representatives reflects the will of the people. Congress writes budget for the national government. Today, there are 232 republican representatives, 201 democrats, 1 independent and 1 vacant position. Just below, a map of the distribution of the electoral votes state by state. (2008 elections).

D.2/ The Senate :

The senators represent the states. All of the people in a state vote to choose 2 senators who will represent their state (2 x 50 = 100 senators). Each state has an equal representation in the Senate.

Each senator is elected for 6 years but not all are elected at the same time : every 2 years, 1/3 of the senators stand for elections. Therefore, the Senate is continually renewed. Today, there are 55 republican senators, 44 democrats and 1 independent.

D.3/ Committees in the House of Representatives and the Senate :

The role of houses is to write laws, but its impossible for all congressmen to participate in writing all laws. Thus, they are divided into specialized committees. For instance, the ways and means committee (that works on all budget laws) or the armed force committee. Once laws are written, all the members of each House vote on it. For a law to become valid, it must be approved by the majority in both houses and also signed by the President. Some committees are permanent, others temporary. There are 23 permanent committees and hundreds of subcommittees. Each committee includes both republicans and democrats in order to reflect the composition of the Houses. The political party that has a majority chooses the chairmen of all committees. Its the chairman who writes the agenda for his committee. Committees also have a second role : to investigate. In particular to investigate the activities of the President and the executive branch to make sure they do not do illegal things. They can investigate any problem in the USA.

D.4/ The limiting powers of the Congress :

D.4.A/ The power of the Purse : The Congress controls taxation and use of tax money by the executive branch. D.4.B/ The power of Impeachment : The Congress can put government officials and federal judges on trial for treason, corruption and serious crimes This is called Impeachment. First, the House of Representatives investigate to decide if its likely a crime has been committed. If yes, they accuse the government officials involved and Senate holds a trial. The members of the jury are the 100 senators. They vote to decide whether the accused is guilty or not after listening to the evidences. Three presidents have been through an impeachment procedure : - Andrew Johnson (not guilty) - Richard Nixon (resigned before a trial could be held) - Bill Clinton (not guilty) D.4.C/ The special powers of the Senate : The Senate also has the following powers : to limit other branches of government to approve (necessarily) people chosen by the President for important positions to approve (necessarily) people chosen by the President to become judges of the Federal Court system to approve (necessarily) all treaties to limit and influence the judicial system

The Congress (Senate + House of Representatives) sits in the Capitol, in Washington D.C.

E/ The Judicial branch : the Federal Courts : E.1/ Composition of the Judicial branch :
The Federal Court is the highest Supreme Court. It has 9 judges called justices. Justices are named for life, but when one retires or is removed or dies, the President chooses a new Justice (who must be approved by the Senate) According to statistics, the Senate has refused 1/5 of presidential choices.

E.2/ Role of the Supreme Court : Judicial review :

The Supreme Court decides of cases between states and is the last court of appeal. It interprets the Constitution to decide if a state or if a national law violates the Constitution. This is called the Judicial review. The final authority on Constitution is the Supreme Court. Decisions are taken by majority vote.

E.3/ Power of the Supreme Court :

The Supreme Court limits the power of the Congress and of the President. Using judicial review, it can decide that a law voted by the Congress and signed by the President is unconstitutional. In this case, law is nullified. It can also decide that an action taken by the executive branch is unconstitutional and can order it to stop it. Examples : - The US Congress used to allow states to segregate schools according to races. In 1952, the Supreme Court decided this was unconstitutional : schools must be integrated. - In different states, laws said that children in schools must pray for God. In 1962, it was declared unconstitutional - In 1972, Nixon refused to give documents to the Congress. The Supreme Court declared his behavior to be unconstitutional and ordered the President to stop refusing.

II/ The presidency and the presidential elections : A/ Who can become President ?
Everyone who is born in the USA and is at least 35 years old. The President is elected for 4 years and can be re-elected one time.

B/ Role of the President : 10

According to the Constitution, the President is the head of the executive branch and the Head of State. He names : - the secretaries (=the ministers) to run for the departments of government (=the ministries) - the ambassadors - the Supreme Court Justices - the Federal Judges - the Heads of bureaucratic organisations (councils, oragnisations, etc.) He is the commander in chief of the armed forces : he can use US troops to attack other countries. He can negotiate treaties with other countries and can pardon criminals (ex: Jimmy Carter, in 1977 pardoned all men who refused to fight in Vietnam) The President must sign laws made by the Congress for laws to be applied. He can refuse : this is the presidential veto. He has official powers, but also 3 unofficial powers : - hes the head of his political party : he can order his supporters to follow his policies on several issues - hes elected by the US people and is traditionally supposed to have a popular mandate. Therefore, the Congress is supposed to listen to the President. Hes involved together with his supporters in the Congress in writing many of the laws - hes the center of attention for the media : its easier for him to appear in medias

C/ How the executive branch works :

The President has secretaries, advisors and experts. In recent years, the vice-president has also been given more work to do. The most important secretaries meet together in the Cabinet, an unofficial structure where they make policy and decisions to run the USA. The President has a special organisation called the Executive Office of the President. The latter owns, among about 40 other federals agencies (as the NASA, the CIA, etc.), the council of economic advisors, the national security council or the office of management and of the budget.

D/ Presidential elections : the road to the White House :

Lets see the seven steps to climb in order to reach the throne : 1) Become a national figure and get campaign contributions ; 2) Win the primary elections and the state cacuses to obtain delegates to the national convention who will nominate you as the party candidate ; 3) Win the party nomination at the national convention, choose a running mate (i.e. a candidate for vice-presidency), writes the party platform (= the program). Usually, a candidate obtains a majority early in the election year (by March) so theres little suspense ; 4) Campaign the other candidates. Get good media coverage. The campaign usually begins on the Labour Day (1st Monday of September) and lasts two months until the Election Day (1st Tuesday of November) ; 5) Win the popuplar vote in the key states on the Election Day. Voters go to polls to vote from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Results and projections are broadcasted, so that people on the West coast know what people on the East coast have voted ; 6) Win the electoral vote in the Electoral College. The President is not directly elected by people. Hes elected by electors, members of a College, not by voters. Each State has a

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number of electors equal to its number of senators and representatives. The popular vote determines how they will vote, according to the winner takes it all system. 7) Be inaugurated and give an inaugural address. Its done on 21st of January. The President must take an oath to do correctly his job and to respect the Constitution. He gives a speech on which policies he will pursue.

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# Important events that happened during the road to the nomination: In order to get support from the religious right, Reagan said I know that you cannot give me your support because I am a politician, but I can support what you believe in., which raised further debate concerning the conformity to the first amendment: Whats more, faith based programs are religious, but they get money from the State nonetheless, so where is the limit? Kennedy vs. Nixon: First presidential debate on TV: Nixon looked like a criminal on TV, whereas Kennedy looked more composed, which helped him win the election. The most recent presidents are George W Bush, Bill Clinton, George Bush Senior, Ronald Reagan, Jimmy Carter, Gerald Ford and Richard M.Nixon. The Americans are not very interested in the vote. George Washington had no political party, and then the presidents were federalists. In the mid-19th century, 2 minor parties appeared: the Democratic and the Republican Party. The vote is a political tool that helps you give your opinion; no matter whether you agree or disagree (it enables you to give your 2 cents worth). Indians, women and blacks did not have the opportunity to vote. It is a privilege, it is desirable, and it is your only political tool, together with supporting lobbies such as the NRA, or religious groups.

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E/ The increase in the presidential power :
Since the USA were created, the presidential power has kept increasing... At the beginning, the Congress was powerful. It created an enormous bureaucracy controlled by the President. Some people say that the increase in presidential power was necessary because otherwise, nothing could have been done. Others say its a danger and a threat to the democraty. Here are the steps that have stood out the past: The presidency of Franklin Roosevelt (1932-1945). During the Great Depression between 1933 and 1938, Roosevelt got a lot of measures passed to solve the problem of the depression : the New Deal. It increased the presidential power and created a welfare state. It was first opposed by the Supreme Court, but eventually accepted. The President gained power in controlling the US economy. The presidency of Richard Nixon (1969-1974). Nixon used his powers as commander in chief of the US army to conduct a secret war in Laos and Cambodia. He also used US intelligence services to spy and disrupt the Democrat party to win the 1972 presidential elections. This has later been revealed by the Watergate Affair forcing Nixon to resign. The Congress then passed laws to control the executive branch (and particularly the army power and spy agencies through a system of checks and balances).

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George Walter Bush : under his presidency executive powers have grown again : o The relationship between the executive branch and the Congress : The Federal governments accounting practices have become unreliable. The Congress can no longer use the checks and balance system to control the executive or they no longer know which tax money is used for. In November 2004, the new director of the CIA told his employees that they were no longer supposed to cooperate with political opponents of the president (even if they are congressmen) o The judicial system : in 02-03, GW Bush stated the Geneva conventions and American laws do not apply to prisoners captured in Afghanistan (detained in Guantanamo). Seemingly, these prisoners were tortured. In June 2004, the Supreme Court declared this was unconstitutional and the President had to stop and allow the prisoners access to the court system. Later in 2004 : a federal court stated that Bush hadnt complied with this order. o War powers : in 2002, the executive branch adopted the doctrine of pre-emptive war. o Domestic spying : in October 2001, the Patriot Act was passed. It was supposed to be used only in terrorism-related affairs, but it seems it was also used in numerous criminal cases not linked with terrorism.

III/ The formation of the American people : Immigration to America :

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# The history of immigration (open or closed door policy?) :
Tocqueville talked about assimilation as being the handmaid of frontier democracy (servante). There are facts and figures: between 1820 and 1840, the big influx of migrants came from the British Isles and from Germany, until 1860-1880, when the number of immigrants from Germany rose, and from G-B decreased. Other groups started coming from Eastern Germany. The assimilation theory (Melting pot: expression coming from a play by a Jewish immigrant, Israel Zangwill) is the point of view of the establishment, and it doesnt take into account the struggle of the classes, unlike the pluralist theory most evidently seen during the civil rights movement: theory of singular groups such as Hispanics, Chinese, etcwho would become hyphenated Americans: the Salad Bowl metaphor. We speak of old and new immigrants, and if we go back to 1900, immigration is a mean to provide manpower and resources to run the new factories. The immigrants were a poor and mostly uneducated workforce, with different religions, (orthodox Greeks, Irish Catholics). They also looked different, and had a strong desire to belong to the US community (more recently, immigrants who wanted to look more American have been good clients of plastic surgery, for example.) They often have to face a certain suspicion because of their looks. There has been an idea of the superiority of native born Americans (=old immigrants) which lead to very racist theories, and social Darwinism. There is an ironic contrast with the original reason for the first immigrants to leave their homeland to flee persecution, because it did not take long for them to persecute in turn those who arrived after them. Immigrants who fled famine had to face extreme examples of discrimination: No Irish needs apply The closed door policy: mostly enforced during the revolution and the depression: 1882: Chinese Exclusion Act, Japanese were put into internment camps,

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 Tax and exclusion of certain types of migrants, 1965: Big legislation, trying to correct mistakes: Reform Act signed by Johnson, which became effective in 1968: abolition of the national origin quota system which led to an increase of the number of immigrants from Latin America. September 11th: Closed door policy again. October 2004: Fingerprints and a photo of the iris are taken at the airport upon arrival: means of controlling. There are different points of view: - Some think immigrants contribute to the gap between haves and have-nots, make the number of poorly educated rise, increase the gap between the incomes of the skilled and the unskilled people, some think mass immigration has worsened the plight of the poor. - Some think these are 5 myths: - America is being overrun by immigrants: Today there is a smaller number of foreign born Americans than at the beginning of the century. - Immigrants take jobs from Americans: The majority of the people who come today are skilled workers, and immigrants create more jobs than they fill, they generate business. - Immigrants are a drain on societys resources: Connected with the economic aspect: they generate money, pay taxes, and employ people - Aliens refuse to assimilate: If it were true, Americans would not all be speaking English. - Non citizen immigrants are not entitled to constitutional rights: generally speaking, the Federal Government is supposed to respect the rights of everyone living in the US. There are different grounds for the exclusion of immigrants (sickness, security reason, criminals, people who contravened the immigration rights of other countries, people with several wives). In order to obtain American citizenship, you have to pass a test and be able to answer certain questions. Ethnicity is dealt with according to different beliefs and customs, and common values. The USA have always had a big tendency towards accepting whites more easily than blacks, but this is changing now as the percentage of non whites is growing faster than the one of the rest of the population (Hispanics, blacks, Asians). One must not forget that the American History was founded on accomplishments made by immigrants.

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A/ Colonial Immigration :

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# The American Dream : Myth or reality?
The idea of the Promised Land comes from the Bible. The United States are a very religious country in which religious references are very important: colonists left Europe for the New World in hope for better days. The first settlers quickly produced literature to describe how wonderful it was (promotional literature by the Huguenots). They compared themselves to people like the Hebrews who had left Egypt for Palestine during the Exodus: a chosen people which had gone to seek a better life, free because they had no king and intending to be their own masters (puritans and anti-autocratic) in a land of milk and honey. This myth, as the diseases, encounters with the natives (etc...) proved it was just a myth, and the conviction of being a chosen people, justified and gave support to what the colonists did to the Indians

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(exterminating the tribes that blocked the settlers). They claimed to have Gods support, and thought they were in their good right. Thus they had no bad conscience, and believed sincerely that it was all part of Gods plan. There was also a materialistic meaning to the concept of the chosen land: an economic as well as a spiritual reward. Once the Indians were removed, the settlers were free to use their land: legislation and acts were passed that gave land to the settlers: Homestead Act of 1862 (the picture) gave 80 acres of land to any citizen willing to build a home there and occupy the land for 5 years. President Jefferson said Those who labour in the earth are the chosen people of God. What is the American dream compared to Europe? Religion is still quite important among the poor, and the American Dream still represents to some extent the opportunity for a better life. We even see people referring to the American dream in the 19 th century: African American Gospel, we find a lot of coded lyrics: they want to escape and find freedom in the North. Joseph Smith started a group of people in Utah: the Mormons. The myth of the promised land has several functions: Its a stimulus to the European immigration, it helps the pioneers overcome the hardship they are faced with in the 18 th century, it represents the uniqueness of the American experience and helps unifying the different cultural groups in the 19th century, it represents the dream of a better future for the disadvantaged. Its also a mean to escape reality, and it gives to the American a sense of mission, a messianic spirit that has given some sense of being morally superior and of having a world mission. The poverty rate in the USA is about 12%, which is the highest percentage in the developed countries. Other countries have social programs so that the weakest citizens are helped. The important poverty in the United States has been revealed by the hurricanes Katrina and Rita, it was not shown before. Presidents have had programs but some have been suppressed: Bushs program is called No Child Left Behind (2002). President Clinton favoured social programs too. There are also lots of faith based initiatives financed by the State, which causes great controversy because of the first amendment to the Constitution: Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof, or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press, or the right of people peaceably to assemble and to petition the government for a redress of grievances. In the 1960s, Lyndon B. Johnson, the successor of Kennedy, saw the need among African Americans as being very great and said: Their cause must be our cause too, we shall overcome; that last part became the motto of the civil right movement. The constitution is here to protect the citizens, but it has been pointed out several times that there are the heirs and the disinherited of rights because some do not fully benefit from the constitution: 25% of the African Americans live in poverty, whereas only 8% of the whites do. This is to be related to hunger, overt social discrimination, crime and drug problems. Wages stagnation, social isolation, and sutterly based discrimination make the situation even worse. The reason for poverty is not always unemployment; low wages are more often to blame, with people cumulating 2 or 3 jobs to make ends meet. Some of the victims of Katrina had possessions, but lived in precarious conditions (no medical insurances) so, a lot of poor evacuees lost everything in the hurricane, since some of them did not even have a bank account: they are very isolated.

# Connections between the American dream and the government :

One of the first concerns of the settlers was to live securely and independently, and they knew that to obtain such a life was necessary for them to enforce a proper government. In 1776, American revolutionary talked about the dependence that they had on England and the King George, which they did not want. Governments are constituted among men, deriving

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their powers from the consent of the governed, that whenever any government becomes destructive to those ends, it is the right of the people to alter or abolish it and to institute new government () to effect their safety and happiness. These words were used in 1776 when America declared independence from England. Americans knew that they had to have a government to avoid anarchy but this government had to respect peoples natural rights (freedom, peace, liberty, safety, life). Everybody is entitled to life, liberty and property/the pursuit of happiness (Property for John Locke; and the pursuit of happiness for the Constitution). Thomas Jefferson, the author of the Declaration of Independence, was only 43 when he drafted it. He was the third president of the USA. This declaration of independence inspired people because of the pursuit of the government, the fact that the governed should have certain rights, the fact that there is certain equality among all. It is a kind of preamble to the American Dream. Thomas Jefferson was a minister in France in 1785. He helped purchase Louisiana in 1803 when he became president, and was also present at the time of the writing of the Constitution. He criticised King George for not abolishing slavery yet he owned slaves himself and even a child with one of them (Sally Hemmings). Slavery was one of the main problems. People in the North were in favour of abolition.

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A.1/ The 17th century :
Immigrants came from very different parts of the world. The first two colonies were Virginia and Massachusetts. A.1.A/ Virginia : The first settlement of Virginia began in 1607. The population was almost entirely rural. The settlers were members of the Anglican Church, they were thus loyal to the King. In 1619 the first black slaves were brought to work on plantations (mostly tobacco). By the end of the 17th century, 13% of the population was black. A.1.B/ Massachusetts : The settlement of Massachusetts began in 1620. Boston became an important town even though most of the population lived on farms. The first settlers were dissidents from the Anglican Church and they hated the King of England. The colony was a theocracy : you had to be a member of the puritan church to vote. There were practically no black people in Massachusetts. A.1.C/ New York : New York was settled by the Dutch. The original name of New York was New Netherlands. The British conquered New York in 1664, but for the next 150 years, there were still Dutch influences in the speech, the clothing and the architecture of the colony of New York.

A.2/ The 18th century :

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Fewer immigrants came from England, but black slaves continued to be imported from Africa. The largest groups came from Scotland and Ireland. Another large group of immigrants came from Germany. And there were also a small number of French immigrants, as well as immigrants from Switzerland, Wales and few Jews from Portugal.

A.3/ Summary :
By the middle of the 18th century, the English culture was dominant but it was not the only culture. There were many nationalities and ethnic groups in America that there wasnt in England. And even the descendents of the English in America had changed their culture to adapt to American circumstances. The English culture was stronger in the cities and pretty weak in the farms.

B/ The Old Immigration (1830-1890) : B.1/ 1775-1830 :

There was very little immigration to America during this period.

B.2/ 1830-1860 : the first wave of immigration :

Most of the immigration came from three countries : Great Britain, Ireland and Western Germany. There were 3 reasons : Beginning of the industrial revolution : artisans couldnt compete with factories. Many of them sold their workshop, bought a ticket to America where there was a permanent labour shortage. Small farmers also sold their farms and came to America where there was a great deal of cheap lands. Political unrest : in 1830, the July Revolution in France and the rebellions in the German state were crushed. People there who wanted to live in a democracy decided to immigrate to America. In 1848, there were revolutions in Europe (Bavaria, Bohemia, Hungary, Lombardy, Moravia, Prussia, South western Germany and in France). These revolutions were crushed too. Irish famine (1845-1847) : more than 1 million people left Ireland to escape from starvation

Most immigrants were welcome in America, for they had a craftsmanship and some money or had a democratic tradition, except Irish because they were catholics and mostly very poor.

B.3/ 1865-1890 : the second wave of immigration :

From 1860 to 1865, the civil war stopped immigration, since young men were liable to be recruited. After the civil war, there was an increased demand for labour in America because the civil war had contributed to start the industrial revolution. Most immigrants came from the same countries, but there was also a large number of people coming from Scandinavian countries. By the end of the 19th century : - 58 million people (22%) had at least one german ancestor, - 39 million people (15%) had at least one irish ancestor, - 33 million people (12.6%) had at least one english ancestor.

B.4/ Efforts to limit immigration : exclusion of the Chinese in 1882 : 17

Beginning with the California gold rush in 1849, a large number of Chinese came to America. Another large population came to build the railroad in the western states. There were immediately racial problems. Chinese were accused of working for low wages and thus lowering American incomes. There were repeated attacks on the Chinese in the largest Chinatown at San Fransisco. In 1862, a law is passed forbidding American ships to transport Chinese passengers. Finally, in 1882, immigration of Chinese has been prohibited.

B.5/ Conclusion :
The immigrants in this period tended to be skilled people who had a relatively large amount of money, except for Irish people. Religious and racial prejudices led some Americans to despise immigrants they blamed due to economic crises and political unrest.

C/ The New Immigration (1890-1920) : C.1/ Immigration from eastern and southern Europe :
After 1890, the number of people coming from western and northern Europe decreased quickly. During the period called the New Immigration, fewer than 1/3 of the immigrants came from there. The majority came from southern and eastern Europe. More than half of the people who came to USA during this period came from Austria-Hungary, Italy and the Russian Empire. There was a lot of immigration at this time : on average 1 million people come to USA every year. Why did people leave southern and eastern Europe? Italy : economic depression and epidemics of diseases, Russian empire : many young men immigrated to avoid serving in the Russian army, Eastern European Jews : Jews were persecuted for their religion. In the Russian empire, there were frequent attacks on Jews, and hundreds were killed

C.2/ Hostility of some Americans :

Immigrants from eastern and southern Europe were not welcome the same way as immigrants from western and northern Europe. There were 3 chief reasons : Religious prejudices : these immigrants belonged to religions that were very different from the main religion in America, which is Protestantism. The Italians and the Poles were mostly catholics (as Irish before them) ; many people from the Russian Empire belonged to the Orthodox Christian Church ; and the Jews were not christian at all. Racial prejudices : at that time, there was a belief that people from southern and eastern Europe were racially different from people from western and northern people. Many Americans believed that the new immigrants were racially and genetically inferior to Americans. They believed that if Americans married them, the quality of Americans would decrease. Economic crises : immigrants from southern and eastern Europe were often extremely poor. They were able to come to the USA because the invention of steel steamships made the trip affordable for very poor people. These immigrants were accused of working for very low wages, thus reducing wages for all Americans. When there was a depression (in 1885 and 1890), the immigrants were accused of causing it.

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C.3/ Theory of the Melting Pot :

Although many Americans were hostile to new immigrants, other people welcomed them. They believed that the mixing of people from northern and western Europe with people from southern and esatern Europe would result in a new and superior race called...the Americans.

C.4/ Efforts to limit immigration :

On one hand, the USA was an industrializing country and needed workers, but on the other hand, there were racial and religious prejudices against immigrants. Slowly but surely, people who were opposed to immigration grew in power. As a result, new laws were passed to limit immigration. C.4.A/ Screening and selection : In the late 19th century, the Congress passed laws to check/screen whether people had contagious deseases. If they had one, they were sent back to Europe. C.4.B/ Exclusion of the Japanese : In the late 1890s, many Japanese immigrated to America, and were accused by Americans of lowering wages. In 1908, the USA and Japan reached an agreement : USA will not offend the Japanese Empire by making a law to stop the Japanese immigration ; in exchange, the Japanese Empire promised not to allow any Japanese to come to America. Consequently, after 1908, no more Japanese came to the USA.

C.5/ World War I (1914-1918) :

The World War I made it very difficult for people living in Europe to go to the USA. From 1 million people a year, immigration dropped to 250,000 a year. However, after the war, the immigration increased again. In 1921, 800,000 people came to the USA. After the communist revolution in Russia, a laws was passed that made it illegal for communists to come to the USA. In 1921 and 1924, the people who believed that folks coming from eastern and southern Europe were inferior finnaly persuaded the Congress to make laws to stop immigration from those parts of the world.

D/ The Quota Acts of 1921 & 1924 (to 1965) :

These laws set that each country in Europe could send a limited number of people to the USA. The number was set to 3% of the number of people who had come from these countries in 1890. It was the last year when a majority of immigrants came from northern and western Europe. After 1921 and 1924, a majority of people could come from northern and western Europe and a very tiny minority of people could come from southern and eastern Europe. But since then, nobody was coming from Northern and Western Europe and only few people were allowed to come from eastern and southern Europe, almost nobody came to the USA. This period enabled the very large foreign population to mix : the different kinds of immigrants became americanized. There were very small changes in the american immigration laws. In 1943, the USA and China became allies in World War II. Therefore, a small number of Chinese was allowed to immigrate to the USA. In the 1940s, there were so many men in the American army that there has been a shortage of workers in America. To allow workers to come to America, a law was passed to

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allow Mexicans to come and work temporarily in the USA (the Bracero Program). They could only stay one year. It was continued in the 1950s.

E/ The family re-unification policy of 1965 :

Three things happened to change the USAs attitude toward immigration laws : The Word War II was fought against Nazi Germany and the racial theories of the Nazis. Thats why the racial theories which justified the Quota Acts were discredited, The Civil Rights Movement of Afro-American led by Dr. Martin Luther King attacked the racist segregation policies in the South. Many Americans became opposed to racial segregation and racial laws, After the World War II, with the decolonization, many new independent countries appeared in Africa and Asia. They objected to American racial immigration policies. Because of the Cold War, the USA wanted to be allied to these new countries.

Consequently, in 1965, the Quota Laws were ended. Every country in the world was allowed to send th same number of immigrants there. Nevertheless, priority was given to immigrants who had relatives already living in the USA. Since the World War II, few people came to the USA. Moreover, till the end of communism, people could not come from eastern Europe because of the Iron Curtain. Therefore, most immigrants came from countries of South America and Asia. By 1976, more than half of the immigrants came from only seven countries : Mexico, the Philippine Islands, Korea, Cuba, Taiwan, India and the Dominican Republic. The number of immigrants increased. From 1960 to 1979, 4.3 million people came to the USA. From 1980 to 1989, 10 million people. The nature of the immigration was also very different from the New Immigration : 35% were professional and white colored workers ; 12% were skilled craftsmen and less than the half were unskilled. Professional and white colored came from Asia, India, the Philippines, Korea, the United Kingdom, and Canada. Unskilled people came from Mexico, Central America, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Cuba and West Indies. There were also a larger proportion of women. This is partly due to the restructuring in the American economy : there were fewer factory jobs and more office jobs. Before 1965, there was no limit to immigration neither from Latin America nor from Canada. The Quota Acts only applied to the rest of the worls, not to the American continent. The Act of 1965 applied to the entire world, including Latin America. However, this law was difficult to enforce because hundreds of immigrants simply walked through the Mexican border.

F/ Immigration control and Reform Act of 1986 :

In 1986, a new law was passed to try to address the problem of illegal immigration. At that time, there were between 3 to 5 million undocumented workers in the USA. The 1986 Act said that people who could prove that they have been living in America since 1982 could be legalized. In 1990, 180,000 people were legalized. In 1991, 1.1 million people were legalized.

G/ Immigration Act of 1990 : G.1/ Skilled immigration wanted :

The USA decided to change the priority given to immigrants. Priority was no longer given to people who already had family in the USA, but to immigrants who had skills.

G.2/ Conclusion : 20

Nowadays, there are 32.5 million foreign born people in the USA (about 11%) : 52% are from Latin America 26% are from Asia 14% are from Europe 8% are from Africa, Oceania or Canada

The United States repudiated their racist immigration laws and gave priority to skilled immigrants useful to their economy. This new wave of immigration has generated three evolutions to the USA : - It reinforced the idea that Americans are not necessarily people born in the USA, - It introduced new religions, cultures, languages, etc. To American life, - It pushed in the direction to be a multi-cultural and multi-racial society.

IV/ African American :

************************************************** ********************************
# The African American experience: There have been 10 key moments: Slavery, Westward expansion of slavery, Abolitionism campaign, Civil war, Reconstruction, Ku Klux Klan lynching, Education: -1896: Plessy vs. Ferguson: Schooling system is to be separate but equal, -1954: Brown vs. Board of Education: school segregation is considered inherently unequal by the Supreme Court, Civil rights movement, Ghetto riots of the late 1960s, Role of blacks in politics. Early Quakers were against slavery, and Thomas Jefferson wanted to end the slave trade. By 1787, slavery had stopped in the North, but it was still present in the South. Some slaves were engaged during the civil war to fight for their masters freedom. Nevertheless, a lot of blacks escaped from the South to find freedom in the North. The slave trade was finally abolished in 1808, but slavery was still present: there was even a growth of slave activity in the South because of the technological changes inherent to the cotton industry. America became a Nation between the Declaration of Independence and the Civil War. Some names of free Negroes, which used to be missing, are now inscribed in history books. An antislavery movement has been created, and followed by whites as well as free Negroes, prior to the Civil War. There are very overt examples of resistance, of protest, of expression against slavery, of active resistance on the part of the slaves. The communication between slaves and their mobility were limited; they could learn neither to read nor to write, could not travel, and were deprived of certain human rights. Nat Turner was one of the first slave leaders (previous to Malcolm X and Martin Luther King) who expressed their protest through revolt. Many people were part of this anti-slavery movement before the Civil War. Turner and his men killed about 60 men before they were

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caught. In his confession to his white lawyer, Turner, a minister who had secretly learnt to write, explained that he felt he had been chosen by God to lead his people out of slavery. He offered a message of hope. He invoked an excerpt from the Book of Matthew: the last will be the first, and the first will be the last. He was executed. According to various historians, there were thousands of rebellions, but the most important thing was passive resistance: slaves pretended they were sick, they sabotaged the tools, did not do the work. And were considered as lazy. On the other hand, there were also intellectuals who wanted to help their people in their fight for a better life. Among these was W.E.B. Dubois, born in 1868, a scholar who founded the National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People (NAACP), and Bookerty Washington, who was a scholar too. Unlike W.E.B. Dubois, he thought that a point of equality would finally be reached and was in favour of compromising. Marcus Garvy thought that the only way for equality was to go back to Africa. He called his movement the Black Protest Movement which was the first movement of its kind. A lot of blacks did go back to the African mainland, but some came back afterwards. The struggle for equality went on. The 13rd amendment (1865) abolished slavery; the 14th gave citizenship to former slaves, due process and equal protection clauses (1868) and the 15th amendment gave the blacks the right to vote. Some blacks fought in the Unionist Army, for example Harriet Tudman who helped the blacks go secretly from the south to the north, through the Underground Railroad. There was a great disappointment on the part of blacks after the civil war, because they were mostly unemployed, and their civil rights were not enforced. Education and higher education of blacks was supported by people like Rockefeller, Carnegie, or Peabody, who continued to help the blacks fighting for a better life. It was very hard to make the mentality gets evolved, to change the status quo overnight, especially with groups such as the Ku Klux Klan, which wanted to maintain a state of inequality. This organization was founded in 1866 by a Scottish man who did not accept the outcome of the war. They showed a great disrespect for the law and all legal procedures, and used violence. They prevented the blacks from going to the polls so that they could have no political clout. It would take 100 years of mobilization of the black community for the right to vote to be implemented. For example, Rosa Parks helped to change the status quo when she refused to yield her place to a white man on the bus. Today, blacks dont vote anymore, so the leaders are trying to get them back to the polls. The placard above calls white people to join the KKK, stressing on the fact its a movement for the good of the USA. In 1935, under the presidency of Roosevelt, blacks started voting Democrat. At the beginning of the 19th century, with urbanization, unskilled agrarians became unskilled industrial workers. Unemployment took its toll and the leaders of the NAACP created a moral, in response to the time, with the creation of organizations. Thus, a class of small black businessmen emerged. There were black units during World War One, during the Spanish American Wars, as well as black intellectuals in diplomacy. They participated in society, but they had not yet access to the political level. Nevertheless, education will soon be made more accessible to all. Ever since 1954, when segregation was done away with on paper, many doors have opened for African Americans. Although their struggle has known both big advances (such as those that followed the Civil War, or changes in the legislation, like the 13 rd, 14th, and 15th amendment) and setbacks, their situation has known a steady improvement. Nevertheless, straight after the Civil War, the improvement of the legislation concerning the black minorities

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were met with such resistance on the part of whites that blacks were put back in their place: They had to face a lot of very violent racist terrors. Even though the legislation had been changed, the peoples mind would not be changed overnight: Legislation, though passed, was not always respected: Fair practise in housing, jobs, and education, seemed to be a settled thing in theory, but was not enforced in reality. The white resentment was especially embodied by the Ku Klux Klan. In 1896, with the separate but equal doctrines enforcement in schools, which is a very clear example of how the whites found ways not to respect the legislation, the blacks freedom underwent a dramatic decline. It is a well known fact that rebellion emerges when there is a difference between a groups aspirations and the day to day reality. Blacks had participated in American wars, and in the American life, and as much as possible in the American society, but were not considered equals to the whites. Thus, a certain number of events triggered the Civil Right Movement, like Rosa Parks refusal to yield her seat in the bus to a white man. This event marked the entrance of Martin Luther King in the Civil Rights Movement. He had planned to become a minister, but was brought into the vortex of action following the events. The boycott of public transportation in Montgomery Alabama lasted one year, but ended with the desegregation of busses. 1954: Brown vs. Board of Education court case: end of the separate but equal doctrine: victory of the NAACP. It had a great symbolic value, even though it took more than ten years for this decision to be applied throughout the country. Sit-ins and freedom rides were lead by groups such as the SNCC: Students Non Violent Coordinating Committee (created in 1960 and led by blacks.) They tried to help the poor get education, or get signed up for the vote. In 1960 too, a sit-in was organized in a Woolworth department store: non violent black students sat down at the lunch counter and refused to leave before they were served. This demonstration was followed by others of the same kind in other department stores. Martin Luther King had convinced them to employ a non violent method. Sadly, this non violence was not always met with non violence on the part of the whites (lynching by the Ku Klux Klan.), and there was very visible and shocking violence. In 1963 in Alabama, fire hoses, police dogs and electric cattle prods were used to put black children out of the way. Bombs also went off in the blacks Churches, for most of the leaders of the Civil Rights Movement were preachers. Black Power: when the SNCC lost patience with the lack of progress obtained by the government, a new political party was created: the Black Panthers. In 1966, the SNCC banned membership of whites. For some people, Black Power means the end of pacifism, and the use of whatever means necessary to defend their interests in response to the white violence. Blacks had to organize themselves better, and to strengthen and improve the black communities in order to eliminate oppression. This change of philosophy was obvious in the different riots that broke out in many cities (Watts California, Detroit Michigan) and marked the start of a more aggressive approach. Legally, Segregation was abolished in 1954, but the so-called Jim Crow laws (which were another name for segregation) still existed in the sense that there still was an economic segregation which led to inevitable inequality. Under the presidency of John Fitzgerald Kennedy, Affirmative Action was enforced: (discrimination positive): It is a policy to ensure more equality for women and for all ethnic groups. A quote of people from each group is hired. Although some say it has the side effect of creating a reverse segregation, it is a way to ensure that more jobs are given to a majority.

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A/ Slavery and segregation : A.1/ Slavery 1619-1865 :

In 1619, American colonists began importing people from Africa as slaves. There were about 750,000 slaves in America by 1690, almost all were located in the South. In 1807, the importation of slaves was made illegal. By 1860, there were about 4 million African Americans in the USA, most of them being slaves and living in the South. Slavery has been the main reason for the Civil War (1861-1865).

A.2/ Abolition of slavery 1865-1877 :

North won the Civil War. In 1865, slavery was abolished by the 13th amendment, which was followed by the 14th amendment giving citizenship to African Americans and, by the 15th amendment which gave the franchise to African American men. From 1864 to 1877, the South was occupied by the US army. It enforced the rights of black people.

A.3/ Establishment of segregation 1877-1954 :

The history of segregation started with slavery, which was then abolished, and then desegregation had to be forcibly enforced. Today, in the South, segregation exists more than ever in private schools, often Christian schools, where creation is sometimes taught rather that evolution. Some types of segregation are less overt, in housing, if you use a non Standard English; you might not get a house because might come from a lower-income part of the population. Racism was also present in the aftermath of Katrina: taxi drivers said openly that they would only evacuate the whites, whites were described as carrying food, whereas blacks were said to be looting. Nevertheless, we can see a strong sense of solidarity in times of need, charitable work is done: Faith in disaster: The problems are considered as challenges, which should strengthen and deepen their faith A Baptist minister said our Earth is corrupted, but God has a plan: we are asked to display love to our neighbours: Love the neighbour, and do onto others as you would have them done onto you. Fox News is very manipulated by the government, but in this case journalists have shown outrage. They have not blamed the government, but they have said the truth. In 1877, the US army withdrew from the South. Southern States regained control of their internal affairs. Different laws were passed to segregate Whites and Blacks and to deprive African Americans from their civil rights, including the right to vote. This was enforced by the authorities of the states, but also through extra-legal ways and lynching.

A.4/ Civil Rights Movement 1954-1964 :

During the 1950s, a movement to end segregation began, notably with the 1954 Supreme Court decision saying that school segregation was illegal. There were boycotts, sit-ins and demonstrations everywhere in the South.

B/ The Great Society 1964-1969 :

The President Lyndon-Johnson succeeded John Fitzgerald Kennedy in 1963. He announced a great society program meant to end poverty and racial discrimination in the USA. Two important laws were passed to implement it : - 1964 : the Civil Right Act made it illegal to segregate public facilities and to discriminate people in employment, - 1965 : the Voting Right Act made discrimination in voting illegal.

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In 1965, Lyndon-Johnson issued an executive order introducing a policy of affirmative action. It intended to be a temporary measure meant to make sure that African American enjoyed the same opportunities for job promotions, wage increases, school admissions, scholarships and financial aids as White Americans. All organisations that acted for the Federal government or received money from it had to show they worked actively for integration by hiring or admitting African Americans in the same proportion as the proportion of African Americans in the community. The result was that it made it possible for a large number of African Americans to escape from poverty. - In 1940, fewer than 6% African Americans belonged to the middle class, - In 1970, about 1/3 of them were in the middle class. It also allowed African Americans to participate in political life. - In 1965, there were only 300 black elected officials, - In 1970, 50 cities had African American mayors. At the same time, some African Americans felt that the change was coming too slowly. They became radicalized. In 1966, the expression Black Power was invented and the Black Panther Party was founded. There have been big riots in major american cities every summer (Harlem (NY) in 1964, Detroit in 1967, and in every city after the assassination of Martin Luther King in 1968).

C/ The white backlash 1969-1983 :

Radical black demands and violence in the cities frightened many Whites, leading to a backlash, a strong reaction against black demands. The Americans put a high value on selfreliance, and white people were opposed to the affirmative action. They accused it of being reverse racism. In addition, in 1973, the oil crisis caused an economic recession and made it more difficult for government to finance affirmative action programs. Two years before, in 1971, the President Nixon ordered a stop to active measures to integrate schools : - In 1974, the Supreme Court confirmed him, - In 1976, the Supreme Court stated that the quota system was unconstitutional, - In 1982, Ronald Reagan decided that private schools discriminating black people shouldnt be punished. In the past decade, the states of Washington and California have abolished the affirmative action.

D/ A divided population (1984-2008) :

There have been no big changes in the African American population in the last 20 years, except that they are now divided by class lines.

D.1/ The black middle-class :

Between 1/3 and the half of the African American population is middle-classed. 1/3 of them are now living in suburbs (66% for whites). Since the 1970s, the black middle class has expended into different professions. They used to be mostly teachers, social workers and nurses. Nowadays, they are also lawyers, doctors, university professors and engineers.

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However, the black middle class is still fragile. Only one half of black professionals are selfemployed, against of white professionals. Moreover, whites continue to earn more than blacks. Most of white families (80%) are double earner families, whereas a majority of black families are single earner. In the past 20 years, the difference between the income the top 60% of the African American population and the top 60% of the white population has decreased. Still, the average white family has 10 times as much money as the average African American family. Black families havent had time to build up a large amount of money. Many Americans do not realize that the black middle class exists. At a poll asking is it true that of African Americans live in a ghetto?, 20% of the white Americans answered yes and 50% of the African Americans thought it was true! Actually, only 20% of blacks live in a ghetto.

D.2/ The blacks and the cycle of poverty :

The proportion of African Americans who live in poverty has decreased from 1/3 to 1/5 in 2000. If African Americans are still meeting a persistent poverty, there are 3 explanations : - Continual racism. The University of Wisconsin did a study in which they sent two volunteers, one white, one black, to apply for a job as a dishwasher. Bosses preferred to hire the white person even though he didnt had a diploma, said that he was a drug addict and had been in jail... - The american economy has slowed down : there are not as many jobs created now as it used to be. - Since 1997, most of the jobs created needs a university degree. Consequently, the poorest African American are becoming poorer than the poorest white Americans. They are trapped in a cycle that feeds on itself. D.2.A/ Crime : There has been nothing worse for relationships between blacks and whites than the increase of violent crime by black peoplesince the 60s. African Americans only make up 12.6% of the overall population, but in the year 2002, they made up for 54% of robbers, 50% of murderers and 34% of rapists. It must be quoted, however, that most of these crimes took place within the African American community. In 1990, almost of African Americans in their twenties are in prison or on parole. D.2.B/ Broken families : In the year 2000, half the African American families were single-parente families (usually the mother), against 18% concerning the white population. Only 1/3 of African American children live with their two parents, unlike of white children. D.2.C/ Poverty : When a single mother has to raise her children, she usually cannot work. Therefore, shes dependant on welfare. 1/3 of the people on welfare is black. A study has shown that 1/5 of the black children whose family was on welfare had been sent to jail at least once. The high rate of unemployment is linked to the level of crime. Half the African American men is employed half time, on temporary jobs or unemployed, while only 1/3 of white men. In 2000, 22% of black people lived in poverty, while only 7.5% of whites. Consequently, African Americans suffer from poor health : the black infant mortality rate is twice as high as the white infant mortality rate. African Americans also have heart attacks twice as often as white Americans. The rate of AIDS is three times as high as the white one.

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D.2.D/ Poor Education : A 1994 test shows that half of the African Americans in fourth grade couldnt read or write adequately, compared to 1/5 of white children. African Americans arent very well prepared for University and thus, the drop-out rate is disastrous. Only 16.5% of blacks, against 28% of whites, have got a university diploma.

D.3/ The African American population today :

There were 34 million African Americans in 1997 (12.8%). This ethny is growing fast : since 1990 its increased by 11% (whereas the white population grew by 3%). The median age of the African American population is 30 years old (38 for whites). 55% of African Americans lives in cities, and 53% lives in the South, where they represent 19% of the population. The cities with the largest African American population are New York, Chicago, Los Angeles and Philadelphia.

V/ Hispanic Americans : A/ Demographic information :

The hispanic population in America is the second growing minority group in the USA (after Asians). Between 1990 and 2000, it grew by 35%. Its a young population. The median age is 26 years old. There are two reasons for that : - One half of the growth is due to immigration from Latin American countries, - A high birth rate. Hispanic Americans can be of any racial group. 91% say they belong to white community, 5% say they belong to the black one, 2.5% of the asian community and the rest, Indian...

B/ Three main nationalities : B.1/ Mexicans :

96.7 million Americans are of mexican descent ; thats to say 60% of Hispanics. The Mexican Americans have been a very small population for a long time. In 1940, there were less than 2 million Mexicans in the USA. Most came during the Bracero Program (19421964). They came to the USA in order to work but were supposed to go back to Mexico, but eventually they didnt... By 1950, there were more than 2.5 million Mexican Americans in the USA. One thing that explains immigration is that wages were much higher in the USA. In the 1950s, the average wage for a farm worker was 50 cents per day in Mexico, and 50 cents per hour in the USA. Then, the Mexicans continued to immigrate. In 1980, there were about 9 million Mexican Americans in the USA ; in 2000, 20 million. The Mexican Americans are especially concentrated in South California, Texas and New Mexico and in cities such as Los Angeles, Corpus Christi (Texas), El Paso or Houston.

B.2/ Puerto Ricans :

They represent the second largest hispanic population with 4 million people, that is, 12% of the hispanic population. Note that there are only 3.5 million inhabitants in Puerto Rico... In 1898, the USA won a war against the Spanish Empire and Spain was forced to give up Puerto Rico. Americans invested a lot in Puerto Rico to develop the sugar industry and to

27

improve the health care in the island (they eradicated the yellow fever). Consequently, there were a lot of jobs and low death rate. This led to a population explosion. By 1925, the expansion of the islands economy ended. A lot of unemployed people came to the USA, especially to New York. In 1970, Puerto Ricans were given the american citizenship.

B.3/ Cubans :
They represent the third largest hispanic population with 1.6 million people, that is, 5% of the overall hispanic population. The cuban immigration began after the establishment of a communist regime in Cuba in 1959. In 1979, a second large group of immigrants came when America allowed the prisoners of Mariel Island to come to the USA. They expected political prisoners, but a lot of criminals also came. It has been the beginning of the cuban mafia. The Cucan Americans are concentrated in Miami, Florida.

C/ Hispanic and american unity :

Up until 1965, the concept of american unity was only based on the idea of the melting pot which supposed new immigrants abandoned their culture to embrace the american one. In the 1960s, a new model, called the salad bowl appeared. Insteaded of people abandoning their culture and their language, they kept being proud of their national origins. Some people say that this concept is a danger for the american unity, and especially with Hispanic Americans. They believe that Hispanics are a greater threat to the american unity than the previous waves of immigration because theyre united by several factors : - The same religion : the Catholicism, - The same language : spanish, o This is reinforced by the number of Hispanics (12%) that represents a big group speaking the same language, o A bilingual education : since 1968, the official policy in schools is the bilingual education, so that people learn a part of the day in their mother tongue and the other part in english; this one gradually increasing. But some people think this just encourages people to keep speaking spanish..., o Spanish language medias : in the past there used to be newspapers in foreign languages, but henceforth e-medias are emplifying the phenomenon. Already in 1990, there were 170 spanish radio channels. In LA, Miami and NY half of the outdoor advertising is in spanish. - The modern means of transports : in the late 19th and 20th century, immigrants didnt really have the choice to visit their family at home. Today, thanks to cars and planes, its much easier. Therefore, Hispanics can keep in touch with their family. Hispanic Americans have an effect on the american culture. Theyre changing it : the american food is getting latinised and so does its language (through the use of spanish expressions). One reaction of this perceived threat is to make english the official language. The national government hasnt adopted any official language yet, though 16 states have done it (among which Florida and California). However, the Hispanic Americans are not a single monolithic group. They are divided in many categories : - Many have converted to Protestantism, - There are national differences that reflect in the way they vote (most Cubans are conservative, Puerto Ricans are more liberal and Mexicans are evenly divided).

VI/ Asian Americans : A/ Up to 1968 : 28

A.1/ Small size of the Asian American community 3 main national groups :
A.1.A/ Chinese : In 1890 : 107,000 ; in 1940 : 77,504. The chinese population has decreased between 1890 and 1940. This is because before 1882, most were men (who came for the construction of the continental railway) and after 1882, none were allowed to come and it was made illegal for Chinese men to marry women from other races. A.1.B/ Japanese : In 1930 : 139,000 ; in 1940 : 280,000. The japanese population has grown slowly. A.1.C/ Filipinos : In 1940 : 98,373. In 1898, the USA acquired the Philippine Islands after the war against Spain. After 1907, when the immigration from Japan came to an end, Filipinos came to the USA to work as farm workers. During the Great Depression, America did no longer want immigrants, and so the filipino immigration was stopped in 1934.

A.2/ Anti Asian discrimination :

Chinese Americans mostly lived in the Chinatowns of the big cities , most were crowded. For instance, the San Fransisco Chinatown counted 15,000 people in 20 square blocks (more or less 4 miles), three buildings out of four did not have any heating system, and the tuberculoses rate was three times higher than the one of white people. The japanese were not allowed to become american citizens (but their children who were born in the USA could), neither were they allowed to own lands (they could work on lands but couldnt buy them). When the Japans attacked Pearl Harbour, almost 120,000 Japanese Americans were interned in camps in Arizona, Nevada and Wyoming. The Filipinos too werent allowed to marry people from other foreing races or to own lands.

A.3/ Attempts to assimilate :

The Asian Americans attempted to assimilate as much as possible, though there was some labour activism in Hawaii and California. In the late 1940s, the laws forbidding land owning to Asian Americans and preventing them from acquiring citizenship have been declared unconstitutional.

B/ 1968 to the 70s : B.1/ Population :

In 1970 : 1.5 million (0.7%). After the 1965 reform of the immigration laws, immigration increased. This has had several effects : - The Asian American community became more diverse with South Koreans, Chineses from Taiwan, Indians from India and, after 1975, Vietnameses and Cambodians, - Many different new religions were brought in America (Japanese are buddhist, Indians are hindu, Filipinos catholics, etc.),

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The Asian American community became very polarised between well-off people and poor people.

B.2/ Asian American activism (late 60s to early 70s) :

The Vietnam war has been a traumatic experience for Asian Americans because of the racist attitude of many soldiers toward Vietnameses. Moreover, many youngsters were inspired by the Civil Right Movement. For instance, in 1968, the Asian Americans participated in a student strike at San Fransisco State University and forced the University to open a School of Ethnic Studies. From 1968 to the end of the 70s, they concentred on campaigns to improve housing, on efforts to defend education rights and to improve employment opportunities. In this period, the first Asian American feminist organisation was created. Unlike the other movements, this one continued through the 70s. It was mainly organised by the 2 nd generation of Asian Americans and by the young first generation of immigrants. On the other hand, the older generation was opposed to all this. They emphasized the values of law and order and also felt that Asian Americans should avoid confrontation with whites. Moreover, they felt that the anti-communist aspect of the Vietnam War was more important than its racist aspect.

C/ 1980 to present : C.1/ Population :

1980 : 3.7 million (1.6%) 1990 : 7.9 million (3.2%) 2000 : 10.2 million (3.7%)

C.2/ Collapse of the radical activist groups :

From the late 1970s to the early 1980s, the Asian American activism slowly faded.

C.3/ Asian American activism since the mid 1980s :

C.3.A/ Filipino identity : It was very difficult for filipino activists to unite the filipino community, since the Filipinos tend to be very divided and to identify more to their island than to a national identity. However, the filipino community eventually united to support the movement in the Philippine islands that overthrew the dictator Marcos in 1986. C.3.B/ Reparation for the japanese internment : Activists successfully organised the japanese community to obtain reparations for their internment during the World War II.

D/ Social polarization of the Asian Americans :

In the USA, generally speaking, the political climate has become more conservative. And so did a large part of the Asian American community. This is due to two reasons : - Asians who were immigrants in the 80s were highly educated, unlike the earlier generation, - Their own country became more powerful and important.

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D.1/ The rich, the yuppies, the neo-conservatives :

Yuppie (from Y.U.P.) means Young Urban Professionals. They are well educated, they have good jobs and they are conservative. Yuppies represent a large part of the Asian American community. The values of the neo-conservatives or yuppies are : - They are proud of their asian heritage but believe that the social movements of the 60s and 70s were destructive, - They are opposed to anti-asian racism (their predecessors thought they should avoid confrontation white white people) but are also opposed to the affirmative action, - In 1992, 70% of the Asian Americans supported either Bush or the conservative independent candidate Ross Perot.

D.2/ The poor :

Theyre almost invisible, or at least ignored. In 1990, 1/5 of the Asian Americans was poor, although they worked full time. Theyre almost no middle class. The Asian American community is a sharply divided community.

E/ Areas of friction with Whites : E.1/ Religion :

Some asian religious practices are condemned by white Americans, such as the ritual sacrifice of chickens for cambodian people.

E.2/ Language :
In the areas where a large asian population lives, local communities must provide bilingual education to children but are abandoning it because its difficult and expensive to find competent teachers in these languages. For instance, in 1989 in Massachusetts, people voted 3 to 1 not to teach asian children in their language anymore.

E.3/ Anti-Japanese sentiment (japan bashing) :

In the late 80s and early 90s, the japanese economy was strong and the US economy was very weak. The Americans believed that low cost japanese imports were causing unemployment in America. In 1992, 2/3rd of the Americans said in a poll they were opposed to japan economic practices. Today, of course, the situation has changed : Japans economy is no longer as thriving as it used to. In 1992, a Chinese American has been aggressed and killed by a group of automobile workers who thought he was a Japanese.

E.4/ Racial prejudices :

An opinion poll in 2001 showed that of the Americans has a very strong negative attitude toward Asian Americans. 1/3rd of them believed that Chinese Americans arent good citizens because they think they are more attached to China than to the USA. wouldnt want a member of their family to marry an Asian. would refuse to vote for an asian president.

F/ The 1992 Los Angeles riots :

In 1992, a black automobile driver was has been attacked and beaten by white policemen. These two policemen werent judged guilty by a jury. This enraged the black

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community in Los Angeles and it rioted. But since there were no more white people near black quarters, they attacked the korean community... 2,300 Korean-owned businesses were destroyed. It cost 400 million dollars. This has been a traumatic experience for Asian Americans.

G/ Demographic information : G.1/ Poverty rate :

In 1998 : Asian Americans : 13% White Americans : 8%

G.2/ Education :
Percentage of people who have a bachelor degree (98) : Asian Americans : 42% White Americans : 27.7%

G.3/ Annual income :

The Asian Americans have the highest average annual income in the USA : the average asian household earns $6,000 more than the average white household.

VII/ Native Americans (American Indians) :

************************************************** ********************************
# Manifest Destiny and Westward Expansion: 1620: First Indian rebellion, they tried to expel European Settlers, who then retaliated militarily. In 1630, the whites took land from the Indians for their settlement, and sent the Indians to reservations: Indian Removal Act. This lead to the trail of tears: Indians were removed and forced to go westwards. Putting them in reservation was also a mean to destroy their culture: Although they had a civilization of their own, the US government tried to force assimilation through the schooling system (Christianization). Just below, Indians moving to West America, hunted by new americans.

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1887: Dawes Act: Indians are put into boarding schools, uprooted; they cut ties with their families and their traditions. The US Bureau of Indian affairs passed a Reorganization Act (also called Indian New Deal) in 1934, stating that Indians were real citizens which helped to faze out Indian culture (because they had to defend their rights independently) There is a very romanticized image of that time, the cow-boys and Indians, etc. It was a slow and a hard struggle for the Indians to keep their traditions. They have been victimized and today, they have very big alcoholism problems. Because of the lack of education, Indians have developed certain trades: they own a lot of casinos, are very much involved in gambling. Some try to retain their dignity and to show respect for their past. Thomas Jefferson (1801-1809) had made an offer of educating young Indians, thinking it was generous, but the chief wrote back that the experience had already been made unsuccessfully: those who came back could neither hunt, defend themselves nor stay in cold weather and had become good for nothing. But he said that if Jefferson wanted to send him some young people for him to educate, Indians would be happy to make men out of them. Hollywood has also done a lot to create an image of Indians as bad guys. # Manifest Destiny: The notion of Manifest Destiny started in the middle of the 19th century. It was an expression first used by John OSullivan, an American journalist and a diplomat who wrote in newspapers when the question of the annexation of Texas came up. The expression was then used over and over again, to justify expansionism (Annexation of California, Oregon) It was a philosophy based on a biblical concept: Since America had a divine mission (i.e. expansion), It is a white mens burden to conquer and christianize the land. This philosophy had two sides to it: one was very altruistic, and the other very materialistic. There was a drive to expand westwards, to win the war against Mexico, to acquire California and to continue beyond the Bordure. The idea of conquering, taking over was very important at that time in America, but there have been other examples of imperialism throughout history (such as Charlemagne, or Napoleon.)

************************************************** ********************************
A/ 1789-1871 : Treaty making :
Originally, the american policy toward Indians was to make treaties with them the same way treaties were made with european nations. For instance, treaties provided land for Indians, or the Indians had to captured escaped slaves and bring them back to the white people. But, at the same time, the USA pursued a policy of military conquest and pushing Indians to the west.

B/ 1830-1890 Military conquest and Indian removal :

1830 : Cherokee nation versus Georgia.

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At that time, Native Americans lived in Georgia and had a treaty about land with this state. But in the late 1820s, gold was discovered on their territory. The state of Georgia dispossessed Indians from their land. The Indians protested, and the Supreme Court ordered the Federal Government to force the state of Georgia to espect the right of the Indians. But instead, the President sent the US army to deport the Indians on the other side of the Mississippi river. This is a typical pattern. It happened : - In California in 1849, - In Colorado in 1859, - In Montana in 1861. This process of war and pushing the Indians further and further continued till 1890. The constant pressure on Native Americans made it impossible for them to get accustomed to the white way of life. The reaction of the white population is that they thought Indians were incapable to adapt. As general Philip Sheridan said : The only good Indians I ever saw were dead. In 1890 occurred the Wounked Knee Massacre. There, the last group of Indians that hadnt been confined to a reservation agreed to surrender. But instead of capturing them, the white soldiers slaughtered them.

C/ 1880-1934 Assimilation :
After this, there was practically no more resistance. The government now had to decide what they would do with the Indians. Those who lived closest to them, in the West, wanted to exterminate them but, in the Congress, cooler heads prevailed. So, an assimilation attitude was adopted to try to turn Indians into white people. In 1887, the Allotment Act said : The Indian tribes should no longer hold their reservation land in common. Instead, land should be divided in allotmens. Indians opposed it. So the Congress said : any land that is not divided up will be taken and sold to white people. The idea was to turn the Indian communitys mind into the individual mind of property owning farmers. It didnt work : Indians were unable to turn their land into farms, and their lands were so poor that little could be done with it. Within 50 years, individual Indians had sold almost half their lands to white people. From 56 million hectares in 1887, only 21 million remained in 1933. This economic catastrophe had an effect on the social organisation and the culture of the American Indians. Moreover, this was made more serious by the policy of the american government, which was to send indian children to schools faraway from their parents. Children were separated from their families for 4 to 8 years. This destroyed indian family life. At schools, indian children were punished if they spoke indian languages. Meanwhile, on the reservation, indian religious ceremonies, music, poetry and traditions were discouraed. There was a high rate of alcoholism, of infant mortality, and of syphilis and tuberculoses. By 1923, only 220,000 Indians remained (i.e. 1/4) Indians, in the 20s, began to protest against the government policy. In 1924, they were made American citizens. In 1925, a government report said the government policies were very bad for Indians.

D/ 1934-1945 The New Deal :

The government stopped its practice of dividing indian lands. In the meantime, indian arts and crafts were encouraged.

E/ 1945-1970 Termination : 34

In the 40s, indian reservations became overcrowded and an increasing number of Indians left them and went to live in cities. The western states pointed to that fact and concluded that Indians had been assimilated and therefore, reservations could be closed. In 1953, the new government policy (called termination) aimed to encourage tribes to disband and sell their lands. From 1953 to 1970, some 600,000 hectares have been sold (most of the time, to white people). In the 60s, Indians began protesting against this policy and, in 1970, this termination policy was repudiated.

F/ 1970-Present, self-domination :
This policy allowed Indians to organize and manage thei rland the way they wanted to. Yet, indian protesters became more radical. In 1973, 200 protesters occupied the town of Wounded Knee. There has been a shoot-out with the police that lasted 11 days. At the end, the rioters agreed to surrender, again. The period from 1973 to 76, in the area around Wounded Knee, is known as the Reign of Terror. During these years, conservative Indians killed 60 of the 200 radical Indians. In 1980, the first indian casino opened. Because indian reservations are indian lands, theyre not subject to local laws against gambling. This has been a success. In 1996, there were 180 indian casinos. 1/3 of the reservations had casinos and another 1/3 was planning to build one... This made some tribes relatively wealthy. More and more people who have indian ancestors are no longer ashamed, but proud to be part Indian and register at a tribe. In 1990, there were almost 2 million Indians, In 2000, there were almost 2.5 million Indians. Theres still a high level of crime, which is mainly due to alcohol (people getting involved in drunken fights). Want to know more? See this video, a summary of Natives Americans story.

G/ Situation in 1991 :
People living below the povery line : - Whites : 7.7% - Blacks : 23.6% - All Indians : 26% - Reservation Indians : 33% - Pline Ridge Reservation : 52% Average annual income : - Whites : $44,386 - Blacks : $27,910 - Indians : $30,784 Crime victim rate : Whites : 49 Blacks : 61 Indians : 124

Incarceration rate (proportion of the population thats in prison) :

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Asians : 1/232 Whites : 1/60 Indians : 1/25 Blacks : 1/12

VIII/ Religion in America : A/ Atheists in America :

There are 5 to 14% atheists in the USA (figures arent reliable). According to studies, atheists feel marginalized, excluded from the american life. A poll in 2001 showed that less than 5% of Americans feel unfavourable to Christian and less than 5% feel unfavourable to Hebraism, whereas almost 1/3 American doesnt like atheists... 5 % of Americans wouldnt vote for a black president, whereas 50% would not vote for an atheist.

B/ The pervasiveness of religion :

90% of the Americans believe in god, 70% belong to a church and 50% say they pray everyday. This is mainly due to the puritan heritage. Puritans believed they were gods chosen people who would find a new promised land in the new world. The religion is present in most Americans private life, but also in public life : for instance, the President swears its oath on the bible, and the Congress begins each session with a prayer. Moreover, televangelism is quite important. Several TVs broadcast religious programs which have a great success. In the same style, the policy of the Bush administration has been to transfer government money from government welfare programs to faith-based charities. A recent issue of the magazine Nation showed a report on how poor people cope with crises. And the answer is that they go to churches...

C/ Nature of the religon : C.1/ Pluralism :

The religion in America is pluralistic. The Americans are very tolerant. 60% of them are protestant, and Protestantism is divided in many churches (1,500 branches).

C.2/ Individualism :
The religion in the USA is individualistic in many ways ; there are several explanations : Protestantism : the protestant church was a revolt against the catholic church. It criticized the catholic church because it had many intermediaries between god and the individual. The protestants said that men required only the Bible and its own intelligence to find god, America has a free market economy based on the idea that everyone is free to choose the best product on the market. The Americans think this applies also to religion, There is a social hierarchy of religion. Some churches are associated with the upper class, some with the middle class and others with the lower class. Sociologists discovered that when Americans change their social conditions, they also change religion ; examples : o Poor : baptist / Pentecosts church, o Middle : methodist / catholic church, o Upper : episcopalian / congressionalist church. Some churches are racially segregated,

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Geographic divisions in religion. Since the civil war, there has been a traditional division between North and South. The catholic church, for instance, is concentrated in the North-East.

C.3/ Patriotism :
The Americans believe its patriotic to be religious. This is an heritage from the founding fathers and the first puritan colonists : the first colonies were theocracies. One had to be a member of the church to vote. After the revolution, this was ended and Church and State were separated. Yet, the american politicians continued to believe that church membership was necessary for moral training of good citizens and that Church supports good citizens. Moreover, during the cold war, America fought against atheistic communism. This reinforced the link between the fact of being patriotic and being a member of a Church.

************************************************** ********************************
# Poverty: Facts and figures :
The Worlds richest 500 people have the same income as the poorest 416 million. 7 billion dollars would be saved over the next 10 years if Europeans decided not to wear perfume any more, and those $7 billion would be sufficient to provide access to water 2.6 billion people. Same thing for the amount spent by Americans on cosmetic surgery. AIDS kills 3 million persons a year. The money spent by the whole world to fight AIDS in 1 year is equal to 3 days of military expenditure. The US constitution talks about equality, liberty, justice and freedom grow up hearing these words. The bill of Rights of 1791 seemed to be a natural development after the Declaration of Independence of 1776. It states the independence from the British (signed by Thomas Jefferson, Americas third president). The constitution was to protect all citizens (preamble of the constitution: To form a more perfect Union, to establish justice, to insure domestic tranquillity, to provide for the common defence, to promote the general welfare, to secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity. If the constitution is to protect everybody, who decides? When women got the right to vote, did men lose anything? Yes, they lost some power. Before, only white men who had property got to vote. We, the people of the USA seems a bit ironical because of the limited characteristic of the WE. African Americans pointed out that the struggle for freedom was necessary because they were disinherited. In 1870, the 15th amendment gave the African Americans the right to vote. Nevertheless, in the 1960s, Martin Luther King still had to fight for that right to be respected. After certain rights were given, it was clear to the ex-slave that their personal lives and rights depended on their ex-masters will to respect these rights.

************************************************** ********************************
C.4/ Religion in politics :
It was under Reagan that the moral majority, a group made up of religious groups who all agreed on a similar moral agenda (against abortion, pro-life came up on stage with a precise political purpose).

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In 1973: Roe vs. Wade case before the Supreme Court. Decision: A woman is entitled to decide whether or not she wants to have a child. Before Reagan, Carter was a born again Christian, and the moral majority was already very interested in politics. Carter was very open about his religion, so he had support from the moral majority, but then he made a statement in favour of abortion and lost his supports, so he lost when he re-ran for presidency against Reagan. Religion played a role in the history of America from the beginning, but the change is that religion has become more and more involved in politics. It was with Carter that religion was brought openly in the public sphere. He portrayed himself as a God-fearing man. Reagan was elected with the vote of the Religious Right, but he too lost their support when he chose Sandra Day OConnor for Supreme Court Judge. There is more and more focus on moral issues such as abortion, gay marriage in politics today. The National Convention takes place in August, and lasts between two and three days for each party. The main candidate is chosen then. In September, there is a public debate between the two candidates, and the final election takes place in November. When George Bush and Reagan ran for president, they had an opponent from the moral majority: Pat Robert. Another candidate, a wealthy TV evangelist named Jimmy Swaggart, was caught having an affair so he lost support. The Christian right has realised that its vote was extremely important because most people who go to the polls are evangelists: their philosophy is If we dont get involved, who is going to take decisions about moral issues? In 1972, prayer was outlawed from schools, but Reagan tried to allow it again. Under God was added to the pledge of Allegiance in 1954, but Atheist did not agree.

************************************************** ********************************
# Who votes for whom? Party affiliation is inherited from the parents in most cases, a bit like religion. Votes are linked to the income level (republicans tend to be more affluent). Votes are also influenced by friends and family. They depend on the place you live (in the suburbs, people tend to be more Republican.) Republicans are the stronghold of the WASPs and the white collars. Democrats are mostly blue collars, urban blacks Until the 1980, the South was mostly democrat, but this has changed. Those who dont vote are less educated, (rural people, women, coloured people) In the last election, the voters have been more mobilized than they used to be.

************************************************** ********************************
D/ Dominance of a minority :
While religion is present everywhere, its not practiced seriously by most Americans. A poll showe the following things : - 20% go to church every sunday, - 22% go occasionally to church, - 29% go to church once a year either for funeral, a wedding or to have their children baptised, - 30% never put their feet in a church for any reason.

38

Yet, religion has an important role in public life. There are 2 main reasons : - Activism of religious minorities, they tend to be more active, - Rise of the conservative protestant churches from 1970 to 1990. During these years, liberal ot moderate churches lost members to conservative churches. It reflects a general change in the american society (especially during Reagan years) who tends to be more conservative. This conservatism increased the impact of religion.

E/ Issues in the culture wars : E.1/ Abortion :

In 1972, the american Supreme Court decided that women had a constitutional right to abortion. Then started a violent conflict with some extremist churches : abortion practicing clinics were bombed and several abortion practicing doctors were assassinated. Many states, which cannot refuse the right of women to abortion, have however passed laws to make it more difficult for women to abort.

E.2/ School prayer :

In 1962, the Supreme Court decided that schools couldnt make children pray. Since then, there have been attempts to re-enter it, and even to make a constitutional amendment to make it possible. Churches also want the 10 commandments to be taught in schools.

E.3/ Creationism :
Creationism is the theory opposed to Darwinism. Creationists say that the world has been created literally the way the Bible tells it. Conservative churches made it obligatory to teach creationism in schools in the same way as Darwinism is being taught.

E.4/ Sex education :

The members of conservative churches estimate that sexual education actually encourages youngsters to have sexual relations outside of marriage. They have attempted to reduce or to eliminate the sexual education.

E.5/ Homosexuality :
Conservative churches are opposed to civil rights for homosexuals. In the last presidential elections, homosexual marriage has become an important issue.

E.6/ Racism :
Some extremists have been attacked as being racist because of a theory that says that Jews were never really the chosen people, but ancestors of white Christians were.

IX/ Media in the USA : A/ Introduction :

39

The America is the country of the mass media. It has been called the media state. It counts more than 1,600 daily papers, 8,000 weekly papers, 1,500 TV channels and 10,000 radio channels. Medias inform people, but they also form public opinion. The most important media in the USA is TV.

B/ Printed press :
The printed press is divided and fragmented. Theres no real national newspaper (unlike UK), but there are hundreds of local newspapers. Only a few papers circulate across the whole country, like the New York Times, the Washington Post or the Los Angeles Times ; and even these can only be found in big cities. Theres a concentration of membership. A few big companies own many newspapers. Some people feel that this may be a danger for democraty... Newspapers in America concentrate on local news (local sports, entertainments, etc.). Little can be found about foreign or national news.

C/ Broadcast Media :
Broadcast medias have some of the same characteristics of the printed press. Theres no national channel, but lots of independent companies that produce programs for local communities. However, most of the small TV & radio stations sign contracts with major networks. These networks provide them with national programs and news.

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