美国文化导论1.ppt

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Regions of the USA: New England Connecticut | Maine | Massachusetts | New Hampshire | Rhode Island | Vermont The earliest European settlers: English Protestants Until well into the 19th century: cultural and economic center. political heritage: town meetings: meetings held by church elders in which citizens gathered to discuss issues of the day. Education: a cluster of top-ranking universities and colleges in New England: Harvard, Yale, Brown, Dartmouth, Harvard was founded at Cambridge, Massachusetts in 1636. ? New Englanders gained a reputation for hard work, shrewdness, thrift, and ingenuity. Regions of the USA: the Mid-AtlanticDelaware | Maryland | New Jersey | New York | Pennsylvania | Washington D.C. New York and Pennsylvania: centers of heavy industry (iron, glass, and steel). melting pot: millions of European immigrants Big industrial cities: New York on the Hudson, Philadelphia on the Delaware River, Baltimore on Chesapeake Bay Regions of the USA: The SouthAlabama | Arkansas | Florida | Georgia | Kentucky | Louisiana | Mississippi | North Carolina | South Carolina | Tennessee | Virginia | West Virginia Issue that divided the north and the south: slavery. To northerners, it was immoral; to southerners, it was integral to their way of life and their plantation system of agriculture. The New South has evolved into a manufacturing region and high-rise buildings crowd the skylines of such cities as Atlanta and Little Rock. mecca for retirees from other regions: mild weather and wonderful landscape Regions of the USA: The Midwest Illinois | Indiana | Iowa | Kansas | Michigan | Minnesota | Missouri | Nebraska | North Dakota | Ohio | South Dakota | Wisconsin “breadbasket.“: The fertile soil of the region makes it possible for farmers to produce abundant harvests of cereal crops such as wheat, oats, and corn.? Corn is the most important of all American crops, as basic t