Text 2.

 

Population.

 

     The population of the United States is the third largest in the world (after India and China). There are over 320 million people living in the USA today. Who are these people? The famous American poet of the 19^th century Walt Whitman said that the United States “is not merely a nation, but a nation of nations”. People from around the world have come to the USA and influenced its history and culture.

 

The Native Americans.

 

     The first people came to America from Asia. Very long ago, as scientists suppose, as early as 40 thousand years ago, they crossed the Bering Strait from Siberia to Alaska when the sea level dropped. These were the people whom Columbus later called “Indians” because he was sure that he had come to the East Indies.

     Today there are about 1,5 million Indians in the USA, most of them live in the Western states – California, Oklahoma, Arizona and New Mexico. About one-third of the Native Americans live in reservations, the land that was given them by the government in the 19^th century. The others live in cities. Poverty and unemployment are the major problems of the Indian population.

 

The British.

 

     The British began settling in the eastern part of North America in the 1600’s. By the time of the American Revolution (1776) the culture of the American colonists (their religion, language, government, etc.) was completely British. One could say that the British culture was the foundation of the new nation’s culture.

 

The New England Yankee.

 

     To people from the South of the United States, Yankee may mean a Northerner. To people from other countries, Yankee means an American. But, properly used, Yankee has a more specific meaning: it refers to people who live in New England.

     Yankees are known for being honest but shrewd; realistic and to-the-point; practical rather than romantic; untalkative, thrifty, principled, and independent.

     The Yankee character may partly explain the special role that New England has played in United States history. In the 18^th century, the American Revolution began in New England. Yankees were among the strongest supporters of independence. In the 19^th century, many New Englanders said, slavery did not fir with their beliefs and principles. New England Yankees led the movement to end slavery in America.

 

African-Americans.

 

     Between 1620 and 1820 very large groups of people came to the United States net as willing immigrants, but against their will. These people were from West Africa. They were brought to America to work as slaves on the plantations of the South. The total number of the black people brought to America within this period reaches 8 million.

     The Civil War in the 1860s ended slaver and established equal rights for black Americans. Yet the effects of 200 years of slavery are still felt in today’s America. In spite of many changes, it is mostly black, not white, Americans who suffer from poverty. Today about 12 per cent of America’s population is black. Many of them live in the South and in the cities of the Northeast and Midwest.

 

Immigrants from Europe.

 

     In the 1820s many people in Europe, suffering from poverty, war and discrimination, began emigrating to the United States. They hoped for better opportunities in the United States. During the first half-century, most immigrants came from the countries of north-western Europe – Germany, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Sweden and Norway.

     During these years the United States was expanding into what is now the Midwest. The Midwest had a lot of land good for farming. That’s why many new immigrants became farmers in the Midwest. Even today, German and Scandinavian influence is felt in Midwestern foods and festivals.

    Between the 1870s and 1930s many immigrants came to the USA from the countries of southern and eastern Europe – Italy, Greece, Poland and Russia. The United States was now developing into a mainly industrial country. Much of the farmland in the Midwest had been settled, so the new wave of immigrants moved to cities and worked in factories.

 

Hispanic-Americans.

 

     Hispanics are people whose ancestors were Spanish or Spanish-Americans. Some Hispanics had lived in the areas which were under Spanish control, and found themselves living in the United States when these areas became part of the US (for example California and New Mexico). Many other Hispanics immigrated to the US from many different countries, mostly from Mexico, Puerto Rico and Cuba.

 

Asian-Americans.

 

     In the 19^th and 20^th centuries many immigrants came to the United States from different Asian countries (China, Japan, the Philippines, Korea, Vietnam, India and others). They have settled mostly in California, Hawaii, New York and Texas.

 

Melting Pots and Mosaics.

 

     For years it was thought that the USA was and should be a “melting pot” – in other words, that people from all over the world would come and adopt the American culture as their own. More recently, some people have compared the US to a mosaics – a picture made by many different pieces. America’s strength, they argue, lies in its diversity and in the contributions made by people of many different cultures. America needs to preserve and encourage this diversity, while making sure that everyone has equal opportunity to succeed.