英语国家概况名词解释美国篇

美国部分

Chapter14

WASPs：Traditionally, the mainstreams American were called WASPs, that is, White Anglo—Saxon Protestants.

Indentured Servants契约劳工：Indentured servants refer to some immigrants who had to work for a fixed term for their masters to repay the cross—Atlantic fare and debts.

Ellis Island爱利斯岛：Ellis Island of New York was an important immigration reception spot in the 1980s and at the turn of the century.

Sunbelt areas阳光地带：

Chapter15

Bill of Right人权法案：(1)In 1789,James Madison introduced in the House of Representatives a series of amendments which later were drafted into twelve proposed amendments and sent to the states for ratification.(2)Ten of them were ratified in 1791 and this first ten amendments to the constitution were called the Bill of Rights because they were to insure individual liberties.

Uncle Tom’s Cabin汤姆叔叔的小屋：It’s written by Beecher Stowe’s novel Uncle Tom’s Cabin, public feeling against slavery was increased. Many people joined the abolitionists. They considered slavery inhuman and brutal.

Emancipation Proclamation解放宣言：Lincoln issues it during the Civil War, when Lincoln realized that he could win support for the Union at home and abroad by making war a just war against slavery. Under the Emancipation of Proclamation, all slaves in areas still controlled by the Confederacy were freed.

Abolitionists废奴主义者：They were people, mostly Northern humanitarians, who strongly opposed slavery and aimed to abolish the system.

The Constitutional Convention制宪会议：(1)Since 1781, the thirteen states had been governed by the Articles of Confederation which set up a very weak central government.(2)In May,1787,the Constitutional Convention met in Philadelphia with instructions to revise the Articles of Confederation.(3)After much debate, the Constitution was later ratified.

The “Great Compromise”大妥协：On the American constitutional Convention, contradictions emerged between the bigger and smaller states, between the industrial—commercial interests and landed interests, etc. The Great Compromise of July 16,1787,gave each state an equal vote in the Senate, making representation in the House reflect the size of each state’s population.

The Federalist Papers联邦文集：(1)During the ratification period, beginning on October 27,1787, the newspapers of New York City carried at short intervals a total of 85 letters to the public written under the name of Publius.(2) Later it was known that these letters were written by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison and John Jay and they came to be called the Federalist Papers.

The Compromise of 18501850年妥协：(1)With the territorial expansion towards the west, the problem of whether slavery should be allowed to spread into these areas arose.

(2)The compromise of 1850 was passed which allowed California to be accepted as a free state, New Mexico and Utah to be organized as territories without legislation either for or