This lesson looks at American history. But not just the events of history more specifically how those events have shaped our culture. One of my early school memories is this poem. In 1492, Columbus sailed the ocean blue. In the mid 1400s. trade routes were interrupted by the fall of Constantinople to the Ottoman Turks, making the land routes more difficult.
Portugal explored sea routes around the Africa, the Italian Christopher Columbus felt that he could arrive in Japan by sailing West, and then could continue on to India. After approaching a number of kings and queens for support. He was finally financed by the king of Spain to find a passage to India. In 1492, he tried and he landed in Spain. Central America, and thought it was India. Columbus's discovery opened up what was then considered the new world to conquest, trade and settlement by Europeans.
On his arrival, Columbus discovered people whom he assumed were Indians. And so Native Americans were called Indians for many years. Often I hear my Indian friends referring to Native Americans as red Indians. Please don't call them that. The term Native American is the correct term, giving respect to the people who were the inhabitants before the Europeans. At times, Native Americans were treated harshly, a sad moment in American history.
About the same time in Europe there was a significant religious reform movement. Martin Luther, one of the major figures in the movement was a priest in the rolling Catholic Church. As he struggled to find spiritual freedom, he realized that the rituals of the church would not bring peace with God. But individual faith would. He stood against the organized church. They believed that the state should not have control over religious practices.
This idea of religious freedom, and the right to one's own beliefs, remains very strong American value. They were also characterized by a strong work ethic. Others followed. One group known as the pilgrims landed further north than they expected, near what is now called Boston. They faced that first winter unprepared, many died after that harsh winter, some Native Americans help them plant crops and taught them how to survive. As the next winter approached, they were prepared.
So they invited the Native Americans for a harvest feast to give thanks to God. Today, Thanksgiving is a major US holiday, celebrated on the last Thursday in November, and begins what we call the holiday season, which leads up to Christmas. In 1776, there were 13 different colonies under the British government. The colonial settlers were unhappy that England was taxing them heavily. political movements love slogans. There's was no taxation without representation.
On July 4, they declared their independence from the British, which began the Revolutionary War. The Declaration of Independence begins with these words, We hold these truths to be self evident. That all men were created equal and that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights. The ideas of equality and rights are key values in the US to this day. The Revolutionary War ended in 1783. And the Constitution was ratified in 1789.
So after the American Constitution was adopted, a concern was raised that the constitution did not guarantee enough freedoms for the people. And so in 1791, the Bill of Rights was added to the Constitution as amendments. These guarantees remain very significant for Americans and are the basis for numerous court decisions. Freedom of speech is very sacred to Americans. The right to own guns is a hotly debated topic after a tragic shooting. at a school or in a public place, the right to privacy was the basis of allowing for abortion.
Another issue which is often contemptuous waves of immigrants came to the United States beginning in 1820 and lasting until about 1910. The walls favorite immigrants from Europe, the Statue of Liberty, a gift from France symbolizes the immigrant nature of the United States. Major cities and development was on the east coast. But to the west were vast regions that were sparsely inhabited by Native Americans, but seen by the European settlers as an opportunity for development. Much of the lore pictured in Hollywood cowboy and Indian movies is from this time of America's expansion, in what was considered the Wild West advertisements in European newspapers. promised land to anyone who would come and claim it.
As homesteaders. This shaped American culture as the limitations of land in Europe were no longer a problem. Now there was limitless potential. Americans still love to think big. The old ways did it work. But now there was a vast new land to be tamed new opportunities to leave the old behind.
Americans are still very much future looking. Old class structures were no longer important. homesteaders had to get out there and prove themselves. Anyone could make it if you worked hard, and Americans still believe this is true today. But there were some people who were not equal. The African American slaves.
Slave traders brought slaves from Africa, mostly to the south. In states to work on large farms, many slaves were treated as less than human. President Abraham Lincoln wanted to outlaw slavery. But the southern states insisted that the federal government did not have a right to pass a law to forbid slavery. Each state should decide if it wanted to outlaw slavery. The result was a massive Civil War, which lasted from 1860 to 1865.
After fierce fighting, the northern states won, and slavery was outlawed. The Battle of Gettysburg in southern Pennsylvania was the turning point of the war. Abraham Lincoln's brief remarks at the dedication of this battlefield cemetery have become significant words in American history. Many children memorize the Gettysburg Address during their schooling starts like this Four score and seven years ago, our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal. Notice again, the idea of being created equal, and also a love for liberty. during a period called the roaring 20s, the US experienced tremendous economic growth.
Then in 1929, the stock market collapsed and began the Great Depression. This period uniquely tested Americans. That generation is often referred to as the great generation for in during the Great Depression and then fighting in World War Two. In this difficult period, Americans became more committed to the American spirit, including a belief in hard work and a love for living. In 1932, President Franklin Roosevelt signed into law the Social Security Act, which greatly increased the government's provision for people's social needs. The Social Security system provides a kind of insurance that pays for up to one year for Americans who lose their jobs, and some income for children who have lost a parent.
And most significantly, it is the Pension Fund, which forms the primary income for many Americans after retirement, making parents not dependent upon their children, and reinforcing the American concept of independence. If you're authorized to work on your college campus, you will need to apply for a social security card similar to the PAN card in India. In 1941, America entered World War Two After Japan bombed America's Pacific Fleet in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, America became a major player in the fight against Hitler. Americans see Hitler as the personification of evil. In India, I've heard favorable comments about Hitler's leadership qualities. positive comments about Hitler are never heard in the US.
Because Hitler use the swastika as a symbol. It is seen as a symbol of an evil regime and of Hitler's desire to wipe out a people group, the Jews. Basically it's seen as a symbol of hate and evil. In India, it's an auspicious symbol in the Hindu religion. Even though the symbols are different. Americans don't generally notice the differences and will equate it with anti semitic or anti Jewish sentiments of hate.
Almost immediately after the end of World War Two, the Cold War began with America opposing Soviet communism. The Berlin Wall divided the city of Berlin to keep East Germans from migrating to the west, and became a symbol of the major divide between communism and free market democratic countries. Although the US and the Soviet Union never fought directly, wars were fought in various places around the world. Both countries were nuclear powers, and Americans lived with a certain fear of getting into a conflict that would unleash nuclear arsenals and cause phenomenal destruction. The 1960s became a time of phenomenal change in the US in the 1960s. The Soviet Union put the first man in into space it was in 1961.
In response, john f kennedy vowed to put a man on the moon. This race produced the spin off of scientific inventions including computer technology. Americans felt we can do anything, any problem can be solved. I remember on a July Sunday afternoon in 1969, watching TV channels broadcast Neil Armstrong's stepping onto the moon, and saying one small step for man, one large leap for mankind. His state was an expression of equality. I am not so important, but the event is important for all people.
The Vietnam War was the first war covered by the news media, showing footage of line battles and the death and destruction which war brings young Men were drafted into the military, many of them just out of high school. And after some time, there became a very strong anti war sentiment, especially on college campuses. slogans like make love and not war were popular, and there were major anti war protests. Although slavery had been outlawed, 100 years before, African Americans did not have equal rights. In parts of the South. They were not allowed to eat in certain restaurants, and were made to sit on the back of buses.
They had limited voting rights and were abused by derogatory terms like nigger. Please never use that word of abuse on an American campus. Even in a joking manner. Most Americans agree that the African American has already suffered more than enough and desires to move forward. without discrimination, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. led a movement of protest to bring about equal rights for the black community. Dr. King was influenced significantly by Mahatma Gandhi, his non violent movement, Dr. King delivered one of the great speeches in American history.
I have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream. I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed. We hold these truths to be self evident, that all men are created equal. I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but the content of their character. The Civil Rights Act was passed and 1964 Dr. King was assassinated in 1968.
And his birthday is celebrated as a national holiday on the third Monday of January. In the 1960s, there was also significant tensions related to the traditional role of women in the US. During World War Two many women entered the workplace for the war movement. Women wanted the freedom to continue working, and more than that to grow and careers and take positions of significance. Again, the idea of equal rights was stressed. During my first years of school, every morning began with a Bible reading the Lord's prayer and a pledge of allegiance to the American flag.
This was challenged by Madalyn Murray O'Hair and the Supreme Court ruled that to continue these practices was in violation The freedom of religion amendment to the Constitution. And this allowed the practice. debate continues to this day about what separation of church and state means. Generally, the idea of being secular in the US is differ from that what it means in India. In India, it means the inclusion of all religions equally. In the US, it has come to mean the exclusion of religion from the public square.
Another major change was the 1965 immigration bill, which opened immigration equally to all countries with preferences given to professionals. Maybe you have an uncle or an aunt who went to the US in the 1960s or 70s. This bill open the way in the early 1970s, President Nixon signed the Paris peace accord, to essentially and the US involvement Vietnam, and in 1975, the North Vietnamese won the war over the South uniting Vietnam. President Nixon was forced to resign because of a scandal known as Watergate. That reinforced our idea that no one is above the law. Let's fast forward to the 1980s.
In 1987, Ronald Reagan challenged Mikhail Gorbachev to tear down the wall, referring to the Berlin Wall. Subsequently, Reagan and Gorbachev became friendly towards each other. And when protesters began to dismantle the Berlin Wall, Russia did nothing to stop it. The Soviet Union started coming apart and former members of the Soviet Union gained independence. Americans saw this as a triumph of freedom over totalitarianism. So the 90s began with a great optimism about a new World Order.
Again, Americans were looking forward to the future not dwelling on the past. The world became more and more connected by internet technology. Thomas Friedman of the New York Times wrote a book titled The world is flat, a play on words referring to the pre Columbus days when the belief was that if you sell the West, you would fall off the edge of the world. It was now flat, not geographically, but an equal opportunity. The Gulf War in 1992 was a challenge, but proved to be a decisive victory, which boosted American optimism. In 2001.
The attack on the World Trade Towers dampened American optimism, the invasion of Afghanistan and then Iraq was significantly more difficult and have left Americans with a weariness War. President Barack Obama's message of hope, gave him a decisive victory in the 2008 elections. During his first term, he passed the Affordable Health Care Act, which sought to reform health care and give every American affordable insurance payments. There's been significant criticism about the program, which runs along party lines. As the 2016 presidential campaign begins, Americans are divided by ideologies. Republicans generally take a conservative stand in terms of economics and social issues.
Democrats generally desire to spend more on social programs, and are more progressive in terms of social morality. When you arrive in America, you'll see that Americans have strong political views. It's best to observe and listen rather than take a position or Early on your stay in the US from the overview of American history. I hope you can see how the values of independence, equality, freedom and future orientation have developed. There is a reason that we are the way we are