The Founding of the United States of America

A little less than 500 years ago. North America was a vast_wilderness inhabited by Indians who, perhaps 20 000 years earlier,_travelled across a land bridge from Asia to America. Then in 1492 Cristopher Columbus discovered a “New World”. For the next 100 years, English, Spanish, Portuguese, Dutch and French explorers sailed forth looking for the New World for gold and riches, for honour and_glory.

In 1607 a daring band of English settlers built the village which they called Jamestown and immigrants soon founded colonies all along the Atlantic Coast.

By 1733 European settlers occupied 13 colonies along the Atlantic Coast. In the following years, the British started imposing different taxes on sugar, coffee, textiles and other imported goods and required the colonists to house and feed British soldiers. But the Americans feared that the new taxes would make trading difficult. Speaking as freeborn Englishmen colonial Americans insisted that they could be taxed only by their own colonial assemblies: "No taxation without representation" was their cry.

Soon all British taxes were removed except for a tax on tea. Colonial leaders held the first Continental_Congress in 1774 in Philadelphia. In May 1775 a second Continental Congress met in Philadelphia and began to assume the function of a national government. lt founded a Continental army and navy under the command of George Washington, printed paper money and opened diplomatic contacts with foreign powers.. On July 2, 1776, the Congress finally resolved "that these United Colonies are to be free and independent states''. Thomas Jefferson of Virginia drafted a Declaration of Independence, which the Congress adopted on July 4, 1776.

The Declaration presented a public defense of the American Revolution, explained the philosophy behind the revolution - that men have a natural right to "Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness, that governments can rule only with "the consent of the governed"; that any government may be dissolved when it fails to protect the rights of the people.

In May 1787, 55 of the most highly regarded American leaders opened a Constitutional Convention that had been called specifically for revising the Articles of Confederation. The meeting resulted in the Constitution of the United States. The Constitution establishes separate executive, legislative and judicial branches of government and requires that a “balance of powers” be maintained among them.

The Constitution was accepted in 1788, and 10 amendments – “The Bill of Rights” were added to the Constitution in 1791. The Bill of Rights insures freedom of religion, a free press, free speech, protection against illegal searches, the right to a fair trial by jury and protection against "cruel and unusual punishment”.

Since the Bill of Rights was adopted, 16 other amendments have been added to the Constitution. The key amendments include: the 13^th, barring slavery; the 15^thprohibiting states from interfering with the right to vote; and the 19^th giving women the right to vote.

TASKS:

I. Read the text. Divide it into logical parts. Find the topic sentence of

<== попередня сторінка	\|	наступна сторінка ==>
	\|	LESSON VIII

Не знайшли потрібну інформацію? Скористайтесь пошуком google:

Генерація сторінки за: 0.004 сек.