History The history of the USA

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Religion
History
The history of the USA
Early American History
1492
16th century
1607
1620
1763 – 1776
1773
1775 – 1783
1776
1789
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© Copyright Oxford University Press
Christopher Columbus sails from Spain. He wants
to go to Asia, but he arrives in America. He thinks
he is in India, so he calls the native people Indians.
Columbus’s discovery brings the Spanish to America.
They convert the native people to Christianity and
change their way of life.
Explorers from England start the first English
colony in the USA. They call the area Virginia.
The name comes from their queen, Elizabeth I,
the Virgin Queen.
A group of English settlers sail from Plymouth to
America on a ship, the Mayflower. They arrive at
Cape Cod in Massachussetts. Many more settlers
from Britain and Holland come to live on the east
coast of America over the next few years.
The settlers in America want to have a separate
country. They don’t want to be an English colony any
more. The Americans are angry about the high taxes
that they have to pay for tea, paper and glass from
England. They cannot vote and they have no one to
represent them in the British parliament.
The Boston Tea Party. A group of angry Americans
get on three British ships, carrying tea from
England, in Boston harbour and throw the tea into
the sea.
The American War of Independence. American
soldiers fight British soldiers because they want to
be independent from Britain. America wins the war.
One of the American generals is George Washington.
The Declaration of Independence. Thirteen
American colonies in the east of the country become
independent from Britain.
George Washington becomes the first President of
the USA.
The Boston Tea Party
1
In the 18th century, North America was a
British colony. This meant that Britain and
its king, George III, governed the country.
The American people could not vote so they
had no one to speak for them in the British
parliament, but they still had to obey British
laws. The Americans bought a lot of goods
from Britain, for example tea, glass and
paper, but they had to pay very high taxes
on them. The Americans felt that this was
not right. They wanted to be separate from
Britain, and they started to form their own
political groups.
The ‘Sons of Liberty’ was a secret political
group. In December 1773 they decided to do
something to show that they were unhappy.
A large group of them climbed onto three
British ships in Boston harbour. They dressed
up as Native Americans. The ships were
full of tea. Boston was an important port for
British goods.
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Leggi il brano e abbina i nomi alle definizioni.
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Columbus
Elizabeth I
the Mayflower
George III
the ‘Sons of Liberty’
George Washington
a
b
c
d
e
f
a political group
King of England
an explorer
Queen of England
the first president of the USA
the English settlers’ ship
Rispondi alle domande. Inizia ogni frase
con Because. ES
Why did Columbus call the natives of America
‘Indians’?
Because he thought he was in India.
1 Why did the first English settlers in America
call their new colony Virginia?
The ‘Sons of Liberty’ threw the tea into the
sea. They called it the Boston Tea Party. The
British were very angry and the next year
they closed the port of Boston completely.
2 Why did the Americans have to obey British
laws?
3 Why did a group of angry Americans throw
tea into the sea at the Boston Tea Party?
The Boston Tea Party showed that the
Americans were serious about their freedom.
Other rebellions happened in other parts of
America and in 1775 the American War of
Independence began.
4 Why did the British close the port of Boston?
5 Why did the War of Independence begin?
Presentazione orale
3 Project
Crea una linea temporale che
illustri gli avvenimenti più importanti della
storia italiana.
4
s
s
s
s
Glossary
sail salpare
native indigene
explorer esploratore
colony colonia
tax tassa
Scegli un evento significativo e prepara una
presentazione orale. Prendi degli appunti
usando le seguenti domande per aiutarti.
Parla per circa 2 minuti. ES T
When and where did it happen?
Who were the important people in the event?
Why did it happen?
What was the result of this event?
vote votare
obey obbedire
port porto
freedom libertà
rebellion rivolta
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© Copyright Oxford University Press