The United States of America Flashcards
What is the name Americans use for the men who were the architects of the new American country?
The Founding Fathers.
What was the name of the war Americans fought for their independence from Britain?
Revolutionary War or War of Independence.
What is the main difference between a melting pot society and a salad bowl society?
The melting pot theory is more of a metaphor for a society that blends several cultures to create a new hybrid culture and the salad bowl society is a society which consists of several different and individual cultures mixed together.
What does the American motto “E Pluribus Unum” mean in English?
Out of Many, One.
When did the British bring the first African slaves to the United States? What colony were they brought to?
The first African slaves were brought to Jamestown in 1616.
What is the link that the White House has with slavery?
The White House was built in 1792 primarily by African Americans, both slave and free.
What are the three largest ethnic groups in the United States (from largest to smallest)?
White Americans, Hispanic American, African American.
What about drug use in America allows us to see the inequality between African Americans and White Americans?
An equal number of African Americans and White Americans admit to using drugs, yet African Americans are six times more likely to go to jail for using the same drugs.
Look up Jim Crow South. Write a definition of it in less than 20 words.
Racist laws enforced to keep power and money away from African Americans and to separate them from White Americans.
What four types of Africam American music have been influential in Western culture in the past century?
Jazz, blues, rap, and R&B.
Who was the leader of the Civil Rights Moovement?
Martin Luther King Jr.
What is the Congressional Black Caucus?
Short answer: the CBC is not a political party, but rather a group of black members of congress that promote similar ideas.
Passage from the textbook:
“In the American Congress, a group of black politicians called the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) represents the African American members of Congress. In the 115th Congress (2017-2019), it consisted of 49 members which represent 78 million Americans. The CBC is not a political party, but rather a group of members that promote similar ideas. Most members are part of the Democratic Party.”
Who was the first European to set foot in the Americas?
Leif Erikson
Where was Christopher Columbus born, and for which country did he sail to the New World?
Genua, Italy and Spain
Who are the Americas named after and what was his job?
Amerigo Vespucci the cartographer
Why is Columbus Day so controversial in the United States today?
Columbus Day is controversial because many now know that Columbus brutalized the Arawak Indians and is essentially guilty of genocide. At the same time, Italian Americans use the holiday as a way to celebrate Italian American heritage.
What is an immigration wave?
Various waves of people that came to the United States at the same time.
The first groups of immigrants to the United States (original 13 colonies) came from what European countries?
United Kingdom, Netherlands, Germany, Ireland.
What does the term WASP mean?
White Anglo-Saxon Protestant.
Which three religious groups that came to the British Colonies for religious freedom?
Pilgrims, Puritans, and Catholics.
The first wave of immigrants consisted of people from which countries?
Germany and Ireland.
What is the single largest ethnic (not racial) group in the United States today?
German Americans.
Which party was created as a reaction to Catholic immigration?
Native American Party.
The Know Nothing Movement was used to get which two groups of people out of power?
German and Irish Catholics.
