Topics for review

1.      The American war was very significant in the history of America.

-          A political upheaval (cuộc biến động) during the last half of the 18th cent. In which the 13 colonies of North America overthrew the gov. of the British Empire & then rejected the British monarchy (chế độ quân chủ) to become the sovereign (có chủ quyền) USA.

+ free American from colonial …to become an independent nation

+ a challenge to the old monarchies & heritage-based privilege hierarchies of the old systems in Europe.

+ the American shift to republicanism & the gradually increasing democracy, caused an upheaval of the traditional social hierarchy, & created the ethic that formed the core of American political values.

2.      Was the war only about slavery?

-          The Southern Slave states wanted to secede (ly khai) the US so the rest of the country fought to preserve the nation as a whole bez most of the Southern states could not legally secede from the Union  à ending slavery in the US, restoring the Union, strengthening the role of the federal gov.

3.      What evidences have helped u to see both sides of the economic dilemma going on during the Civil War?

4.      The roles of US in the Cold War?

-          In the CW, the US & the Soviet Union were the only two superpowers in the world. America was the capitalist super power & the USSR (Russia) was the communist superpower. The USSR also included most of what we know called East Europe. The US led the West. This group included countries with democratic political systems & the US also led the formation of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in 1949 (NATO was joint military group)

-          However, in my opinion, the US had effectively become the most powerful & influential country in the world in terms of military, politics & economy.

+ Military: US possessed the powerful military force. Essentially naval-based (căn cứ hải quân) advanced military with the highest military expenditure in the world. Largest nuclear arsenal in the world during the 1st half of the Cold War…

+ Economy: the WWII had been reached far from its national boundaries; the US had not suffered the industrial destruction or massive civilian casualties that marked the wartime situation of the countries in Europe or Asia.

America maintained economic dominance by establishing the Marshal Plan which is successful in putting America in the center of international economics. The war had reinforced the position of US as the world’s largest long-term creditor nation & its principal supplier of goods.

+ Politics: America won the Cold war when Russia gave up communism in 1991 due to economic failure. The fall of the Soviet Union seemed a heaven-sent chance to fulfill a long-held dream of global leadership welcomed & even embraced by the world. America had always considered themselves the world’s most important nation & it destined leader.

5.      What do you think of the issue of immigration in the US in the globalization era?

-          What is globalization? The fact that different cultures 7 economic systems around the world are becoming connected & similar to each other because of the influence of large multinational companies & of improved communication.

-          Advantages:

+ Immigrants often take the low-paying jobs (food service, hotel cleaning) that most Americans do not want to do at such low wages

+ Some of the most intelligent & ambitious individuals who are not satisfied with their own countries bring their skills to America.

+ It increases the diversity & expands the culture of the country.

+ improves the overall image of America internationally, it’s seen as open & welcomeing country.

-          Disadvantages:

+ More immigrants means more opportunity for terrorists, drug dealers, & other kind of criminals to enter the country.

+ Less – skilled American citizens earn less money & have fewer job opportunities bez they must compete with immigrants in the job market.

6.      American dream & 6 traditional basic values: ideal & reality

-          American dream:

+ the US has shifted fr an industry-based economy to one that is service or information-based, there has been a decline in high – paying jobs for factory workers à much more difficult to go “fr rags to riches”

+ as the US competes in a global economy, many worker are losing their old jobs & finding that they 7 their family members must now work longer hours for less money & fewer benefits.

-          6 values: not always be put into practical

+ Freedom: the  black slavery supposedly dedicated to freedom & equality plagued the nation fr the very beginning & was not resolved until the Civil Was. Some racial groups & individuals are not as free as others, haven’t enjoyed the same rights & opportunities as others.

+ Equality of opportunity: Some have better chance for success than others. Those who are born into rich families have more opportunity than those into poor families. Many Black Americans have fewer opportunities. Today many immigrants have fewer opportunities than those who came before them.

7.      The US economic role in the global context?

According to the latest statistics in 5/2008, the US is still considered the leading economic power in the world even the story of China’s explosive economic growth over the last few decades can seem formidable.

-          High technology: no other nation exports as much high tech as the US

-          Agriculture: farming is highly mechanized & commercialized.

-          Goods & services: the leading importer of food & beverages, machinery & iron & steel products.

-          Mineral resources & fertile farm soil

8.      What are the achievements that the US has reached so far & what are the challenges it is now facing?

9.      A limited government & traditional American values?

·         A suspicion of strong gov.: it is strongly believed that a strong gov. is a threat to traditional value of individual freedom. Therefore, they create some features that limit the gov. power:

-          Federalism: dividing authority between the central gov. & the individual states

-          Separation of power

-          3 branches of gov

·         Criticism: on big gov., the welfare state “go on welfare” = personal embarrassment & loss of self-respect.

·         Welfare state: gov. support for individuals à weakens self-reliance associates with restricted individual freedom  à less accepting of welfare program than pp in Western country.

10.  American education & traditional American values

-          Americans value education for its monetary value. The more schooling pp have, the more money they can earn.

-          American edu is to develop individual’s critical thinking skills & competitiveness

-          Americans try to achieve racial balance in public school after a long time of discrimination.