英美概况中名词解释

Major Terms

The United States of America

1.The Mississippi -----It is the most important and longest reiver in the US. It flows about 6400

km from its northwestern source in the Rockies to the Gulf of Mexico. The Mississippi and its tributariies drain one of the richest farm areas in the world.

2.The melting pot-----It means that the US is composed of immigrants from different nations all

over the world.

3.W ASPs-----It stands for White Anglo-Saxon Protestants. They are the mainstream of

Americans who are the descentdents of the early English settlers.

4.Jamestown-----The first permanent colony established by the English in 1607.

5.Declaration of Independence-----The United States Declaration of Independence is a

statement adopted by the Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, which announced that the thirteen American colonies should be free and independent states. It was drafted by Thomas Jefferson.

6.Bill of Rights-----The Bill of Rights is the collective name for the first ten amendments to

the United States Constitution. The Bill of Rights is a series of limitations on the power of the United States federal government, protecting the natural rights of liberty and property including freedom of religion, freedom of speech, a free press, free assembly, and free association, as well as the right to keep and bear arms. In federal criminal cases, it requires indictment by a grand jury for any capital or "infamous crime", guarantees a speedy, public trial with an impartial jury composed of members of the state or judicial district in which the crime occurred, and prohibits double jeopardy. In addition, the Bill of Rights reserves for the people any rights not specifically mentioned in the Constitution and reserves all powers not specifically granted to the federal government to the people or the States.

7.The Louisiana Purchase-----The acquisition by the United States of America of 2,147,000

km2France's claim to the territory of Louisiana in 1803. The U.S. paid $11,250,000 plus cancellation of debts worth $3,750,000, for a total sum of 15 million dollars for the Louisiana territory ($219 million in 2010 dollars).

8.Gettysburg Address-----A speech by Lincoln on Nov. 19,1863 after the northern victory at

Gettysburg. The speech was considered unimportant at the time, but has come to be viewed by the Americans as one of the most significant expressions of American democracy.

9.Emancipation Proclamation-----An executive order issued by United States President

Abraham Lincoln on January 1, 1863, during the American Civil War under his war powers.

It proclaimed the freedom of 3.1 million of the nation's 4 million slaves, and immediately freed 50,000 of them, with the rest freed as Union armies advanced.

10.Ku Klux Klan-----Racist terrorist organization in the U.S. organized by veterans of the

Confederate army, first as a social club and then as a secret means of resisting Reconstruction and restoring white domination over newly enfranchised blacks.

11.The Gilded Age-----A term refering to substantial growth in population in the United States

and extravagant displays of wealth and excess of America's upper-class during the post-Civil