{history}

The history of the USA

Patrick Philips (USA)

punished the South for the rebellion, and

kept soldiers in the former Confederate
states for twelve years. This is something
southerners still cannot forget.
In 1898, the US went to war against
Spain, and won from them many islands
including Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the
Philippines.

The 20th century

and the Cold War
In the 20th century, the US became one
of the most dominant powers in the world.
America participated in both world wars
during this time, and ended WWII as one of
two superpowers (the USSR was the other).
The Atomic Age began in 1945 when
the US dropped A-bombs on Japan.
This ended WWII, but afterwards the US
and USSR began a contest to dominate
the world. The Cold War lasted over
According to archeologists, the present-day United States was first populated by people from Asia forty years and ended with the collapse
sometime between 50,000 and 11,000 years ago. of the Soviet Union in the 1990s. While
the Soviets were able to compete in
The beginning years. But the biggest and the bloodiest technology, they could not match America’s
war America fought was the Civil War, economy and natural resources.
The present-day United States was first 1861 - 1865. Today the US is the only superpower
populated by people migrating from Asia The southern states tried to leave in the world, and because of this many
(now they are called Native Americans) the union because they did not want countries do not like America. American
who inhabited America before the arrival slavery to be abolished. They formed a involvement in the Middle East has been
of European explorers in the 15th century. new country, the Confederate States of very unpopular, and many people dislike
Later, the area was a British colony. America, and went to war with the US. American domination of world markets
On July 4, 1776, the United States was After four bloody years, the industrial and politics. Though the US may not be as
born when 13 British colonies in North North was able to defeat the agrarian popular as it once was, no one can deny
America declared their independence. South, and the war came to an end. the experiment in democracy has been
Though the colonies did not have a President Abraham Lincoln wanted to a success.
professional army like the British, they allow the South to re-join
were helped by Britain’s old enemies the union without penalty,
France and Spain. There was a war, which but he was assassinated
ended in 1783 with an American victory. just as the war ended.
In 1787, the United States drafted Without Lincoln, the US
a constitution, and in 1789 George
Washington became the first President of

Y Vocabulary
the United States. This was the beginning
of the so called “experiment in democracy”.
to draft [drA:ft] - načrtnout,
19th century America sepsat
slavery ["sleIv(@)ri] - otroctví
- the Civil War to abolish [@"bQlIS] - zrušit
America expanded greatly in the 19th agrarian [@"grE:rI@n] - zemědělský
penalty ["pEn(@)lti] - trest
century. In 1803, President Thomas
to assassinate [@"s&sIneIt] -
Jefferson bought the Louisiana territory zavraždit Cold Mountain (USA, 2003)
from Napoleon Bonaparte of France. The to drop - shodit The American Civil War is impressively portrayed in this
Louisiana Purchase added 2.1 million natural resources ["n&tS(@)r(@)l movie telling the story of a seriously wounded confederate
square km to the US. rI"sO:sIz] - přírodní zdroje soldier (Jude Law) who sets on a journey back home to Cold
involvement [In"vQlvm(@)nt] - Mountain, North Carolina to see his girlfriend (Nicole Kidman).
This period also saw many wars. In angažovanost During his long journey through the post-war confederacy,
1812, the US went to war again with to deny [dI"naI] - popřít he meets various people who want to either help or stop his
Britain, and was victorious after three mission.

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