Topic 2 UK and USA – The governments and the governed · Topic 2 UK and USA – The governments and the governed A The Magna Carta Seite 31 – 36 1 SB Seite 31 Lösungsvorschlag:

Topic 2 UK and USA – The governments and the governed

Let’s start Seite 30

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Lösungsvorschlag:picture Aelection campaigncelebrationpolitical partyticker tapeballoonsnational convention

picture BBig BenLondongovernmentpoliticsHouses of ParliamentPrime MinisterThames

picture CWhite HouseUSApresidentgovernment

picture DQueen of EnglandPrince PhilipHouses of Parliamentceremonialrepresentativesymbolicno real power


Let’s start Seite 30

2Lösungsvorschlag:1.picture A• In the USA, political events are much flashier than in Germany.• The National Convention looks like a birthday party.• You see a lot of red, white and blue, the colors of the American flag.

picture B• Big Ben is a bell in a tower on the River Thames in London (Big Ben is not the name of the tower itself, as many people think).• The tower belongs to the Palace of Westminster, which is also called the “Houses of Parliament” because this is where the two Houses of the

British Parliament meet.• The sound of Big Ben is known and recognized all over the world and is an important symbol of Britain.

picture C• The White House is the home of the US President and his family.• It is located in Washington DC on the East Coast of the USA.• TV reporters are often filmed outside the White House.

picture D• Queen Elizabeth II of England is the longest ruling monarch that England has ever had.• She has no real political power, but has rather a symbolic function.• She is the head of state of many other countries as well, including Canada and Australia.


A The Magna Carta Seite 31 – 36

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Lösungsvorschlag:a) The government should … • secure law and order in society (make laws and make sure they are kept; have a police force that sets through the laws if need be, and a

justice system that deals with people who disrupt the order and do not obey the laws) • make sure all citizens can live well (take care of the disadvantaged: poor, handicapped, sick people) • provide education • provide an infrastructure (streets, energy supply, water and waste water disposal, waste disposal) • make sure the country can be defended in case of an attack



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Lösungsvorschlag:b) The people in the government are entitled to fill that role through democratic elections.



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Lösungsvorschlag:c) The citizens should … • cooperate with the government by keeping its laws • make use of their right to vote • make use of their right to take part in government (stand for elections at the local/regional/national level, or contact their

representatives with their wishes and complaints)



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Lösungsvorschlag:d) Citizens’ rights and responsibilities are listed in the constitution (or equivalent documents) of a country.



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Lösung:

What is the Magna Carta? • one of the most important historical documents• established that everybody has the right to be treated justly by

the law (among other rights for the citizens of the country)• a peace treaty between the king and his barons

What happened in the past? • the Magna Carta was signed (an event that has had a strong influence on many people and documents since)

When? • in June 1215

Where? • at Runnymede, England

Why? • The English King, King John, was fighting with some of his barons who had started a rebellion against him. The barons won the fight and forced King John to sign the Magna Carta.

Who was involved? • King John of England and his rebellious barons



3Lösungsvorschlag:1.Effects of the Magna Carta with regard to …a) the English monarch

The Magna Carta establishes that even the king is subject to the law of the land. As a result of the Magna Carta, the power of the English monarch was restrained during the Stuart period (as opposed to other European monarchs who were much more powerful).

b) the English people They are guaranteed the right to justice and to a fair trial.

c) the system of government in England It was one of the first steps in the development of England’s parliamentary democracy.

d) human rights Its principles are seen in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948.

e) other important documents It has influenced many important documents such as the American Bill of Rights (1791).

2.• No free person shall be caught and held or put into prison, or have their rights or their possessions taken away from them, or be declared

unlawful, or sent out of the country, or have their social status taken away from them or destroyed, nor will the government use force against them or tell others to do so, unless a jury of her/his fellow citizens has judged that this should be done in a trial, or the law of the land prescribes this.

• Justice cannot be bought or sold (= it is there for everyone independent of their wealth); we will not keep it from anyone or have anyone wait for it longer than necessary.



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Lösung:1.In sentence A, an event is referred to that happened in the past. The event is closed, as is the period of time in which it happened. In this case, the simple past is used.In sentence B, an event is talked about that is still going on today (a lasting effect); thus, the period of time referred to has begun, but is not over yet. In cases like this, we use the present perfect.

2.a) agreedb) putc) has influencedd) celebratede) has shaped



5Lösungsvorschlag:1.United States Declaration of Independence (1776)• document written by Thomas Jefferson in 1776 (one year after the beginning of the War of Independence)• The Declaration states the colonies’ reasons to break away from England. It also states essential human rights.• The document is generally called “Declaration of Independence” but does not contain these words.• The Declaration of Independence was adopted by the Continental Congress, the representative organ of the rebellious colonists, in

Philadelphia on July 4, 1776.• The Declaration of Independence contains the following sentence, which is quoted very frequently and which forms the basis of many

ensuing statements of human rights: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

American Bill of Rights (1791)After much discussion, the American constitution came into force in March, 1789. It had been much discussed whether certain human rights should be incorporated into the Constitution itself. In the end, these were ratified as the first ten amendments, i.e. additions to the Constitution. The first ten amendments are called the “American Bill of Rights”. They were ratified in December, 1791.Some of the rights secured by the Bill of Rights are:• the freedom of religion, freedom of speech and press, freedom to peaceful assembly, and right to petition the government (1st amendment)• the right to bear arms (2nd amendment)• the protection from unwarranted search of your house or from unwarranted arrest (4th amendment)• the protection from being held for a crime without decision of a grand jury; protection of life, liberty and property (5th amendment)• the right to a fair trial (6th amendment)Some of the amendments clearly mirror the rights that were demanded in the Magna Carta (esp. the 5th and 6th amendments).The second amendment has been discussed heatedly and with great regularity in the past decades. The gun lobby in the USA holds it sacred, while many say that the circumstances have changed: the USA have a standing army and do not need the capacity to form a militia any longer, so that this amendment could be adapted to today’s situation. In the second amendment, the right to bear arms is founded on the fact that a country needs a militia to defend itself.

Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948)The Universal Declaration of Human Rights was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on 10 December, 1948. 10 December is today commemorated as International Human Rights Day. The Declaration is a response to the atrocities committed by Nazi Germany during the Second World War. The UN decided that a clearer specification of human rights was needed.The committee which drafted the Declaration was chaired by Eleanor Roosevelt, the wife of former US President Franklin Delano Roosevelt.The Declaration specifies human rights in four sections:• individual rights, such as the right to life and the prohibition of slavery• the rights of the individual in society, such as the freedom of movement• spiritual, public and political rights, such as the freedom of association, thought, conscience and religion• social, economic and cultural rightsThe Declaration was ratified by the UN with 48 states voting in favour, none against, but 8 states abstained, among them South Africa (whose apartheid system at the time violated a large number of the rights specified in the Declaration), as well as the counties of the Soviet Union (where, for example, the freedom of movement was not granted).The Declaration received much praise, but has also been criticized for its Western bias. Much of the criticism stems from Muslim countries where it is perceived that the Declaration does not fully reflect Sharia law.

Martin Luther’s thesesIn Luther’s time it was customary for the church to sell so-called indulgences. While through confession you were believed to be saved from eternal damnation, you still had to undergo temporal punishment in purgatory. The indulgences that you could earn through good deeds and – eventually – buy for money were said to absolve you from this punishment. The church used this as a source of money. Pope Leo X famously ordered indulgences to be sold in order to raise money for St. Peter’s basilica.Luther found fault with this for many reasons. He formulated his 95 theses in which he put down in an academic manner the problems he saw with indulgences. Some of these are:• True repentance which leads to the forgiveness of sins should be an inner struggle, not something happening on the outside.• The indulgences offer false security: repentance is a prerequisite of forgiveness, and no priest can know for sure if someone has been truly

repentant. Therefore the indulgence might not be truthful. Furthermore, true repentance is enough to have your sins forgiven; indulgences are therefore superfluous.

• Indulgences may prevent Christians from doing acts of mercy that were otherwise done to achieve forgiveness. Giving to the poor is, according to Luther, much more important than buying indulgences.

On 31 October, 1517, Martin Luther is said to have nailed his 95 theses to the door of All Saints’ Church (Schlosskirche) in Wittenberg in Saxony. However, it is disputed whether he actually did this. It is certain, however, that on that day he sent a letter to Alfred of Brandenburg, the Archbishop of Mainz, in which he included the theses, in order to instigate an academic discussion on the topic.The theses gave rise to a heated discussion in the church which eventually led to the splitting up of the Christian religion into the protestant and the catholic church.

Bill of Rights (England)The Bill of Rights was presented to the British monarchs in 1689, after the so-called glorious revolution, the overthrow of King James II and the invitation of William of Orange and his wife Mary (“William and Mary”) to become king and queen of England. The document was presented by parliamentarians and served to establish the constitutional monarchy in England, which means that parliament holds significant power and the monarch has to bow to the will of parliament.The Bill of Rights of 1689 is one of the documents that make up the constitution of the UK.Some of the rights specified in this document are:• parliament is given judicial powers, i.e. no laws can be passed or abolished without the consent of parliament• the monarch cannot raise taxes without the consent of parliament• free elections of the members of parliament• the right to freedom of speech in parliament• cruel or unusual punishment is prohibited• parliament should be held regularly and frequently

Representation of the People Act (England)The Representation of the People Act of 1918 gave women the right to vote for the first time in England.The voting system had undergone several changes: before 1832, only men who owned property of a certain value were allowed to vote, and the country (where rich landowners made up most of the electorate) had higher representation than the towns and cities. In the course of the 19th century, several reforms took place which allowed more men to vote and brought about a more equal representation of the country on the one hand and towns and cities on the other. After the Russian Revolution of 1917, fear of a similar uprising evolved in England. It was seen as necessary to introduce steps towards creating greater (though by no means complete) social equality in the voting system.The Representation of the People Act introduced (among others) the following changes:• all men from the age of 21 were allowed to vote• women from the age of 30 were allowed to voteIn 1928, a further reform secured equal terms for men and women. The voting age was lowered to 18 in 1968.

2.The founding fathers of the United StatesThere are different definitions of the term:• the people who led the revolution of the thirteen original North American colonies against England and won independence for the colonies• the men who signed the Declaration of Independence• the participants of the Constitutional Convention in 1787 who drafted the Constitution• more broadly, all men and women – statesmen, soldiers, ordinary citizens etc. who in some way contributed to winning independence and

creating the United States of AmericaSeven men are sometimes named key founding fathers:• John Adams, Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson who served on the committee that wrote the Declaration of Independence• Alexander Hamilton, John Jay and James Madison, who worked for the ratification of the Constitution• George Washington, who was a prominent general in the revolutionary war and is credited with having led the revolutionary army to

victory, and who later served as first president of the United StatesContribution: The “Founding Fathers” are a group of individuals that are symbolic of the collective achievement that is the USA. The precedence was set where colonies won independence from the colonizing power, asserted the rights of the aggrieved subjects, and powerfully stated individual human rights that in consequence shaped the idea of the new nation.

Mahatma Gandhi (1869 – 1948)• Indian lawyer and civil rights activist first in South Africa, then in India• employed non-violent resistance• worked in India for alleviating poverty, ending untouchability, improving women’s rights• was instrumental in bringing about Indian independence from British rule and establishing Indian self-rule• most famous action: organized Dandi Salt March, a 400km march as a demonstration against the salt tax which had been imposed by the

British• proposed the concept of non-cooperation with the British, e.g. by spinning yarn and producing textiles, boycotting British textiles, as a

symbol of independence from Britain• his dream of a united, multi-religious India failed; after independence the country split into predominantly Hindu India and

predominantly Muslim Pakistan in 1947• was assassinated by a Hindu nationalist in 1948Contribution: Gandhi’s approach of non-violent protest has influenced and inspired many protest movements worldwide, among others the Civil Rights movement in the USA in the 1960s. His own lifestyle equally served as a model. He lived modestly and self-sufficiently, wore simple traditional Indian clothes, ate simple vegetarian food, and practiced fasting as a means of protest, but also of personal purification.

Nelson Mandela (1918 – 2013)• political activist, fighting the apartheid system in South Africa that privileged white South Africans• took part in an attempt to overthrow the government, was arrested and sentenced to lifelong imprisonment• served 27 years in prison; released by President de Klerk in 1990• together with de Klerk he abolished apartheid• became president of South Africa in the first multiracial and thus fully representative election in 1994• served as first black head of state until 1999, first president who was elected in a truly democratic election• dedicated his presidency to racial reconciliation in South Africa• received the Nobel Peace Prize together with de Klerk in 1993Contribution: Nelson Mandela brought about the end of the apartheid system which was based on racial inequality and severe violations of human rights. When he came to power, he did not strive for retribution by asserting black supremacy but sought reconciliation between all ethnic groups in South Africa.

Martin Luther King (1929 – 1968)• American Baptist minister• civil rights activist; leading figure of the African-American Civil Rights Movement in the USA in the 1960s• employed methods of non-violent resistance inspired by Mahatma Gandhi, as well as by his own religious convictions• famous examples of activism: leading function in Montgomery bus boycott in 1955, peaceful march on Washington in 1963• famous speech “I have a dream”, in which he powerfully describes his vision of racial equality in the USA• received the Nobel Peace Prize for his activism against racial inequality in 1964• assassinated in 1968Contribution: Martin Luther King was a powerful figurehead of the Civil Rights Movement. Shortly after his death, the Civil Rights Act was passed by Congress. Here, not only discrimination on the grounds of race was outlawed, but also on the grounds of religion or national origin. Later, this was expanded to sex, familial status and disability. Martin Luther King’s contribution thus extends beyond the struggle for racial equality to include a wider spectrum of civil rights.

3.• We might need a Magna Carta for the digital age to secure internet users’ rights and liberties, to protect their privacy, to secure the

fundamentally democratic basic idea, to protect this space from becoming dominated by corporate interests. (cf. Anne Jellema, “Why do we need a Magna Carta for the digital age?” published online by the British Library)

• We might need a Magna Carta to protect the rights of refugees who come from countries that are torn by war and seek safety in another land.

• We might need a Magna Carta that secures the rights of all workers in our globalized world, and that ensures fair pay and working conditions for workers worldwide.

• We might need a Magna Carta to regulate artificial intelligence, to determine to what degree humans can and should be replaced by robots, and what kinds of decisions should be transferred to machines (e. g. to what extent should military drones be allowed to determine what or who to attack, or what decisions over life and death can be transferred to robots in medicine).



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Lösung:1.A 1 ElectorateB 3 House of CommonsC 5 Prime MinisterD 2 The MonarchE 2 The MonarchF 4 House of LordsG 2 The MonarchH 6 CabinetI 3 House of CommonsJ 4 House of LordsK the Prime Minister (5), aided by his cabinet (6), as well as the Assemblies in Wales and Northern Ireland and the Scottish Parliament (7)L 5 Prime MinisterM 2 The MonarchN 7 Assemblies in Wales and Northern Ireland, Scottish ParliamentO 5 Prime Minister



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Lösungsvorschlag:The British System of GovernmentThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a constitutional monarchy. This means that there is a monarch who is the head of state, but governmental responsibilities lie with a parliament. The monarch – at present Elizabeth II – officially appoints the government. Parliament consists of two houses, the House of Commons and the House of Lords. The House of Lords has little political power, but can for example delay bills that are proposed by the House of Commons. The House of Lords is made up of 804 so-called peers, 92 of whom are hereditary peers who are elected from people who have inherited a title, the rest are appointed for life (life peers) by the monarch. The House of Commons is elected by the people every 5 years. The leader of the strongest party in the House of Commons becomes Prime Minister (PM), who is the head of government. The PM is aided by his cabinet, the group ministers who are the heads of state departments. The House of Commons is the legislative branch of government, i.e. it decides on laws. In the process of devolution, regional political bodies have been established over the past decades in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. These regional parliaments can make decisions in a number of fields that are of more regional concern.



8Lösung:1.A ScotlandB EnglandC WalesD Republic of IrelandE Northern Ireland

2.a) England, Scotland, Walesb) England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Irelandc) England, Scotland, Wales, Nothern Ireland, Republic of Ireland


B The monarchy – yes or no? Seite 37 – 40

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Lösung:A 5; B 4; C 1; D 8; E 6; F 9; G 2; H 3; I 7



2Lösungsvorschlag:People are standing on the side of a road. They look as if they were waiting for something.The people are holding flags, mostly the Union Jack, but one person is holding the flag of England.Some people are wearing a fluffy headgear, in the colours of the Union Jack. One person is wearing a paper crown, another is holding one in her hands. The people look happy and expectant.The symbols stand for the United Kingdom, for England, and for the monarchy. The people are probably awaiting a member or members of the royal family to drive by. They are showing their support for the royal family, and they seem happy and possibly proud of being citizens of the country which is ruled by this royal family.



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Lösung:

Type of argument Pro Contra

political • the Queen is politically impartial• has Britain’s best interests at

heart

• royals symbolize an unfair and elitist system that does not have a place in a modern democracy

• royals stand in contrast to the ideals of democracy where leaders are elected, not determined by birth

• monarch does not have political power

• some people do not feel represented by the monarch

economic • attracts tourists because royal family is famous and adds glamour to the country

• brings in lots of money through tourism

• royal family can be seen as a very valuable “brand”

• cost of luxurious lifestyle is paid for by taxpayers’ money

other • makes Britain “special”• makes people proud to be British• royal family supports charities

and volunteer work• Prince Charles speaks out on

environmental issues

• the fact that the monarchy still exists perpetuates the class system



4Lösungsvorschlag:

Arguments for and against Germany becoming a monarchy again

Pro Contra

• A monarch can be more neutral politically and represents the entire population. The German head of state, the Bundespräsident, is elected. The candidates are usually proposed by the big parties. Thus, the person who represents the country does not really represent everybody.

• A monarch (in a hereditary monarchy) reigns for life and is thus usually more constant than the Bundespräsident who is elected for 5 years. And even when the monarch dies, someone in the family will inherit the title, so there is further consistency there.

• The royal family would not have to cost too much. They could live in the castle of the Bundespräsident and get his/her budget.

• A royal family would have celebrity status and would add a lot of glamour to the country. The magazines would have lots of new topics to write about.

• Tourists would want to come and see the palace and buy cups and other things with pictures of the royals. This would bring in a lot of money.

• A monarch gets to have this role purely because they are born into a certain family, not because of any merit or character qualities of their own. Thus, a very unsuitable person can become the monarch of a country and do a lot of harm (even if they don’t have political power).

• The Bundespräsident is elected by a representative body of citizens (though not directly by the people). Thus she/he represents the will of a majority.

• We have been without a ruling monarch for about 100 years now. Ever since World War II, Germany has had a very stable system of government. A successful system should not be changed.

• A royal family would be very expensive and would have to be supported at least partly through tax money.

• Members of a royal family would be hounded by paparazzi. The tabloid press would expand and its publishers would make a lot of money at the expense of the royal family.



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Lösungsvorschlag:1.a) … we would have a royal family, just like the English!b) … Germany might have kept its royals.c) … I will be very surprised.

2.• If Germany became a monarchy, souvenir shops would sell a lot of trinkets with pictures of the royal family.• Journalists would love it if we had royal weddings and royal babies, just like they do in England!• If Georg Friedrich of Prussia were our Kaiser, he would have to do the job of the Bundespräsident.• If the situation in Germany had not been so bad at the end of World War I, Kaiser Wilhelm II would not have been forced to abdicate and

Germany would have been a monarchy longer.• If you ask me whether I would like for Germany to be a monarchy, I will have to think about it.

I don’t know!



6Lösungsvorschlag:1.people: king, queen, princess, prince, duke, baron, Prince of Wales, Duke of Edinburgh, heir apparent, line of succession, sovereignsymbols: crown, castle, throne, horses, guards, scepter, red robe with furfunctions: representation, Head of State, supporters of charities and other causesfeelings: national identity, pride, love, admiration, respect, fear, scepticismassociated words: royal(ty), kingdom, constitutional monarchy, to abdicate, sovereignty, diamond jubilee, absolute monarchy

2.Individuelle Beiträge

3.to abdicate: to give up being a king or queen – abdankendiamond jubilee: a day exactly 60 years after an important event took place, such as the coronation of a monarch – sechzig-jähriges Jubiläumsovereign: king or queen of a country ( formal) – Herrscher/insovereignty: power to govern an country – Herrschaftscepter: an ornamented stick that is carried by monarchs on festive occasions – Szepterempire: a group of countries that is governed by the same ruler – Reich, Herrschaftsgebietheir apparent: the person, usually a son or daughter of a monarch, who is to inherit the crown – Thronfolgerline of succession: sequence of people who are to inherit a title or crown – Thronfolge, Reihenfolge der Nachfolge



7Lösungsvorschlag:IntroductionBuckingham palace, the guys with bearskin hats in front of it, the royal family on countless cups and trinkets in the gift shops, and a royal wedding or royal baby every now and then – we cannot imagine England without its royals. Wouldn’t it be nice for Germany to have its own royal family? However, even in Britain the institution of the monarchy is also a controversial issue. Not everybody thinks that Britain should remain a monarchy. The more general question arises whether it is more positive for a country to be a monarchy or whether the downsides outweigh the advantages.

Main part (possible arguments, to be supported by examples)• Cost factor: A royal family brings in a lot of money through tourism, but also costs enormous amounts of money to the taxpayers.• National identity: A royal family can be a strong continuation of tradition; they are symbols of a national identity; however, they also

represent a class system that puts people at an advantage or disadvantage because of the family or social class they were born into and many are critical of this.

• Political impact: When a monarch is merely head of state while governmental responsibilities lie with a parliament, this monarch can have a neutral position because they do not belong to or represent a specific party and thus they represent the entire nation. On the other hand, an unelected leader may not at all represent the will of the people, and in history and in other parts of the world, monarchy has been and still is a repressive and tyrannical form of government in which the people do not have any power; this does not fit with our idea of modern democracy.

ConclusionWhether it is positive or negative for a country to be a monarchy cannot be answered in a general way. It very much depends on the circumstances within a given country. If a majority of the people approve of an existing monarchy, there are strong reasons for keeping it. However, I don’t see a good reason why monarchy should be reintroduced in a country like Germany, which has been without a monarchy for around a century. New traditions have formed, and the functions of the royals are fulfilled by other people like the Bundespräsident for representational functions, and our stars for the gossip.


C The rule book of the USA Seite 41 – 46

2Lösung:A 5 h); B 4 f ); C 1 b); D 7 e); E 2 d); F 8 a); G 3 g); H 6 c)



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Lösung:1.Bill of Rights – founding fathers – native Americans – Pledge of Allegiance – star-spangled banner – apple pie – Super Bowl Sunday

2.a) … die Verfassung sei das einzige, woran sich alle Amerikaner in ihrer großen Vielfalt halten müssen, selbst der Präsi-

dent.b) … eingeborene Amerikanerin und damit eine der wenigen wirklichen Amerikanerinnen an der Schule.c) … der Treueschwur an die Flagge der USA, das Sternenbanner sowie die Geschichten über Präsidenten wie George Wa-

shington und Abraham Lincoln, die besonders ehrlich gewesen sein sollen.d) … die Liebe zu Sportarten wie American Football und Baseball, sowie die Vorliebe für bestimmte Nationalgerichte wie

Hot Dogs, Hamburger und Apple Pie.



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Lösung:a) veto the law; b) override the veto; c) impeach; d) agree to the impeachment; e) appoints judges and other officials; f) impeach; g) give its consent



6Lösungsvorschlag:

Legislative• Congress• House and Senate

Executive• President• Cabinet

Judiciary• Supreme Court• Federal Courts

The President suggests legislation and can veto laws passed by Congress.

Congress can pass laws over the President’s veto by a two-thirds majority. Congress ratifies treaties and declares war.

The Pr

esiden

t app

oints

federa

l judge

s.The Senate must confirm the

President’s judicial appointments.

The Court can declare laws unconstitutional. The C

ourt

can d

eclar

e pres

identia

l acts

unco

nstit

ution

al.



7Lösung:a) every second year



7Lösung:b) for six years



7Lösung:c) every second year (one third of the Senate is chosen)



7Lösung:d) four years



7Lösung:e) The number of electors of a state is equal to the number of senators and representatives of that state added together.



7Lösung:f) The president has to be a natural born citizen, has to be at least 35 years old, and has to have lived in the United States for at least

fourteen years.



7Lösung:g) the vice president



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Lösung:a) arrived; had governed; b) decided; had already been; c) reacted; began; d) was declared; had already declared; e) was signed; has had


D The first US president who … Seite 47 – 50

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Lösung:1.a) From left to right: George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, Abraham Lincolnb) Theodore Rooseveltc) Franklin Delano Rooseveltd) Barack Obamae) George Washingtonf) Franklin Delano Rooseveltg) Abraham Lincoln



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Lösung:

No true false lines quotation

a) X 12 – 13 … that he declined … king of the United States.

b) X 16 – 17 … who is famous for having written the Declaration of Independence.

c) X 21 – 22 Not only is he famous for having caused the end of slavery …

d) X 24 – 26 He was shot … shortly after he had been reelected for a second term of presidency, …

e) X 32 – 33 … who supported ecological interests by creating millions of acres of national forests.

f) X 50 He [= Franklin Delano Roosevelt] also introduced social security …

g) X 47 – 50 … he started a program called the New Deal … agriculture was supported.

h) X 53 – 55 He fought very hard … bound to a wheelchair for most of his life after that.

i) X 64 – 65 He is also famous for having legalized same-sex marriage.

j) X 68 – 70 A cause that is close to Obamas heart … blocked by the powerful gun lobby.



VIDEO LOUNGE SB Seite 50

Lösungsvorschlag:1.

toiled in sweatshops

In the 19th and early 20th centuries many women worked as seamstresses, i. e. they sewed clothes for clothing factories. Pay and working conditions were very bad, but for many new immigrants, these jobs were a possibility to start a new life in the USA.

settled the West In the course of the 19th century, the settlement of the United States spread further and further west across the continent. The first settlers had a very hard and simple life at first.

endured the lash of the whip

From the 17th to the 19th century, African slaves were brought to the USA, where they worked under inhumane conditions, mostly in cotton and tobacco fields that made the country rich. Their owners used brutal methods to ensure hard labour and to punish any wrongdoing.

plowed the hard earth

During the settlement of the United States, the first task was to make the wild land arable, i. e. to prepare it so that crops could be grown on it. The ground was often dry and full of rocks, which meant very hard labour for the farmers.

Concord (1775) • first battle in the American War of Independence (1775 – 83)

Gettysburg (1863) • important battle during the American Civil War (1861 – 65)• considered the turning point of the war; Unionist (Northern States) forces

managed to overcome the Confederate (Southern States) Army in the three-day battle which cost more lives than any other battle in US history

Normandy • invasion of France by the allied forces from 6 June to mid July, 1944 (World War II, 1939 – 45)

• first landing on 6 June commonly known as D-Day

Khe Sanh • battle during the War in Vietnam (1955 – 75), with Northern Vietnamese Forces trying to gain control of the American Army base at Khe Sanh and the US Army defending it, eventually without success

• long battle (January – July 1968), extremely high loss of lives, enormous output of bombs and munitions

2. / 3.The making of AmericaAmerica’s greatness has been earned by doers and risk-takers:• people who have packed all their belongings and travelled across the ocean• people who worked hard in the sweatshops• people who moved out west and settled the land• slaves who were whipped• people who had to work hard to be able to grow crops on the hard land• soldiers who fought and died in battles in which the values of America were defended

The USA in times of crisis• America is still the most prosperous and powerful nation on the earth• Americans are still as productive and inventive as they were before the crisis• American goods are still as much needed as before the crisis

Plans for the future• America must no longer stand pat, protect narrow interests and put off unpleasant decisions• it is time to start the remaking of America• new jobs will be created• a new foundation for growth must be laid• new roads and bridges will be built• electric grids and digital lines will be built• the greatness of science will be restored• healthcare will be improved and made cheaper• energy will be produced from sun, wind and soil in order to fuel cars and power factories• schools, colleges and universities will be modernized

The values that America is built on• honesty, hard work, courage, fair play, tolerance, curiosity, loyalty, patriotism• giving all to a difficult task defines the American character

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Topic 2 UK and USA – The governments and the governed · Topic 2 UK and USA – The governments and the governed A The Magna Carta Seite 31 – 36 1 SB Seite 31 Lösungsvorschlag: