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The stripes represent the original 13 Colonies and the stars represent the 50 states of the Union.

The colors of the flag are symbolic as well: red symbolizes hardiness and valor, white symbolizes purity and innocence, and blue represents vigilance, perseverance and justice.

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- set a statement that they belong to america and are proud to be part of the whole nation.
- A nation blessed by god, which pledges liberty and justice for everybody

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Colonial times - pioneers and natives (Lilith)

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Colonial times - pioneers and natives (Lilith)

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complicated relationship between Native Americans and European settlers

- Native Americans tried to resist colonisation but factors like foreign diseases (e.g. smallpox) and an ever-growing European population were a hindrance to those efforts

- Alliances between European Colonizers and Native American nations formed in order to fight foreign power
BUT: This did not end the European expansion and the aggression against the Native Americans continued
-> often enslavement of the Natives of the loosing side
-> often neighbouring tribes were fighting each other, which caused rifts that kept them from working together against the Europeans

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The Puritans and Calvinism (work ethics) (Josephine)

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The Puritans and Calvinism (work ethics) (Josephine)

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The Puritans were a group of English Protestants with the leader John Winthrop. They were in favour of reforms of the Church of England. At that point of time reforms were in progress but according to the Puritans they did not go far enough.

In 1630, the Puritans decided to travel to America to settle down and to reform the church. They percieved themselves as chosen by God to fulfill a special role in human history, in that case to establish a new, pure Christian commonwealth. In America, the Puritans established the Massachusetts Bay Colony in a town they named Boston.

The Puritans were strict Calvinists and followers of the reformer John Calvin. The theological system of Calvin and his followers was marked by the strong emphasis on the sovereignty of God, the depravity of humankind, and the doctrine of predestination. Puritans lived in a constant state of spiritual anxiety, searching for signs of God's favor or anger.

Salvation was an important belief to them and faith was the key to it. But it was not only individual salvation that mattered  to Puritans. The spiritual health and welfare of the community was paramount as well. The integrity of the community demanded religious conformity. Dissent was tolerated, but only within strict limits because Winthrop was afraid that it would undermine the community. And so it happened:

Two members of the Colony challenged the religious authority of the Puritan commonwealth and threatened to destroy Winthrop's vision

-> The religious fervor diminished: increase in swearing and the spread of sex and alcohol

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The Statue of Liberty is a universal symbol of freedom. Originally conceived as an emblem of the friendship between the people of France and the U.S. and a sign of their mutual desire for liberty, over the years the Statue has become much more. It is the Mother of Exiles, greeting millions of immigrants and embodying hope and opportunity for those seeking a better life in America. It stirs the desire for freedom in people all over the world. It represents the United States itself.

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The thirteen American colonies announced their freedom from British rule

All men are created equal with certain unalienable Rights: Life, Liberty and the Persuit of Happiness

Equality: open society that ideally treats everyone equally

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Great Britain had high war costs due to the Seven Years’ War against France. In order to get money, the parliament planned to raise taxes in their colonies. In the British parliament the colonies were not represented. So, when they voted on this thematic nobody represented the interest of the British colonies. As a consequence, they imposed the Sugar Act (1764), the Stamp Act (1765) and the Townshend Acts (1767). Thereupon, the people in the colonies refused to act according to those acts and started to demand more co-determination and more autonomy but without wanting to become independent. One slogan of this time was: “No taxation without representation!” The British parliament rejected those demands. An independence movement now arose.

When the colonial opposition grew, Britain sent troops to Boston and Massachusetts to punish the colonists for their resistance. In the Continental Congresses the colonies organised their resistance. During the war (1774-1783) the thirteen colonies fought against Britain whereas the colonies had formed alliances with France. 1776, the Declaration of Independence was signed and published, which declared that the colonies are not part of Great Britain anymore, but they were not accepted by the British. After a major defeat at Yorktown, the British voted for ending the war and 1883 the Treaty of Paris was signed, which stated, among other things, that the 13 colonies must be recognised as independent United States of America.

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The American Dream (opportunity for a better life and higher standard of living)

The price is hard work to succeed once and make personal progress

Is possible due to "unlimited opportunities"

You can make it if you really want and put in hard work and effort -- which is to say, you alone are responsible for your success or failure!

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Brotherhood

Beat for freedom

Liberty in law: the freedom for people to do what they want. Liberty is essential to personal fulfillmemt and happiness. People are free to do whatever they want as long as they do not inpinge on other people's freedom.

God is above everything

Patriotism (shown in the common use of the flag or in patriotic songs. It itensifies the sense of national pride and it is the belief in the nation's manifest destiny=America as the God chosen nation)

Glorification

Idealization

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Look at its historic context!

Pride and power

Home of the brave and Land of the free

background: war, referring to the second war of independece from 1812-14, when the Americans fought the British for trading rights with Europe and the acknowledgement of their territory. That war basically put America on the map

Military context

quite violent

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The promise of upward mobility and economic advancement

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The promise of upward mobility and economic advancement

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Especially people from working class had hardly any opportunities of economic advancement. So, they hoped that they will have more opportunities in America. One example would be: in America you needed an apprenticeship for some professions, but back home you would need a degree.

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American Dream includes a wide range of beliefs that are associated with the Declaration of Independence (eg life, liberty and freedom)
The term "American Dream" originates from the book "The Epic of America" that was written by American writer James Truslow Adams during the great depression in 1931.

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-describes a set of complex beliefs, promises of religious and personal freedom
-roots in the Declaration of Independence of 1776
-refers to basic human rights like „Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness“
- they are inalienable and God-given
-all poeple are created equal

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George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Alexander Hamilton, John Jay and James Madison.
There were many others who contributed to the founding of the United States, but these seven are considered by most as the Founding Fathers.

The founding fathers are a group of American revolutionary leaders who united the Thirteen Colonies, led the war for independence from Great Britain, and built a frame of government for the new United States of America upon classical liberalism and republicanprinciples during the later decades of the 18th century.

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The Great Depression and its meaning (Paul)

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The Great Depression and its meaning (Paul)

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The Great Depression

The Great Depression was a severe economic crisis that began after a major fall in stock prices in the US in 1929(Black Tuesday) and had long-lasting, worldwide effects. Experts estimated that it was 15x worse than the Great Recession, the economic crisis in 2008. In most countries people could feel the effects until the beginning of WW2.

Meaning for the US

In the US unemployment rose up to 25% in early 1933 as laws enacted by the government under president Hoover did not seem to have a positive impact. By 1936, the main economic indicator had regained the levels of the late 1920s, except for unemployment, which remained high at 11%. In the US there was another small economic recession in 1937/38 but the economy was able to recover itself in 1939/40. The Great Depression was one of the main factors for the implementation of planned economies in some european countries after WW2.

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World War II and American interventionism (Jannis)

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World War II and American interventionism (Jannis)

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- 1917 the US declares war on Germany, president Wilson wants to defeat Germany "to make the world safe for democracy... and to end all wars"
- Wilson proposes his "fourteen Points" ( Ideas for lasting peace) to the League of nations in 1918
- By the late 1930s the United States continued its efforts to stayout of the wars in Europe and Asia
- In 1940, US policy slowly began to shift from neutrality to non-belligerency by providing aid to the nations at war with the important Powers Germany, Italy and Japan
- President Franklin D. Roosevelt called upon the american people to prepare for war. On december 7, 1941, the Japanese attacked the U.s. naval installation at Pearl Harbor, this was the point where the U.S. formally entered the Second World war
- 1944 was the invasion of Normandy by the allied
- 6th August 1945, an American B29 bomber drops atomic Bomb on Hiroshima - -> 9th August second atomic bomb is dropped on the city of Nagasaki
- World war 2 transformed the United States from a midlevel global power to the leader of the "free world". With this rapid rise in power and influence, the United States had to take on new responsiblities, signalizing the beginning of the "American era".
- 1948-52 the U.S. proposed an Marshall Plan which was providing humanitarian aid for millions of suffering people in Europe( Berlin Airlift)
- from the 1940s- 1989 there was the Cold war which consisted of communist countries (all countries behind the iron curtain) against the capitalist/liberal nations a real war never happened but it was a constant forearming of nuclear weapons with a high risk that a nuclear war can erupt.
- US became interventionalist:
after World war 2, the US became fully interventionist, it was motivated by the goal of containig the influence of communism, and essentially meant that the US was now a leader in global security, economic, and social issues.
- many wars followed started by the US like:
the Korean War (1950-53); Cuban Missile Crisis (1962); Vietnam War (1965-73); the Gulf War(1990/91)

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Following WW2, the United States emerged as one of the two dominant superpowers, turning away from its traditional isolationism and torward increased international involvement. So the US became a global influence in economic, political, military, cultural and technological affairs, which lead to a big growth of the US economy. Unfortunately the post WW2 prosperity did not extend to everyone, especially African Americans have to fight against poverty.

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The Constitution and the Bill of Rights (Annabelle)

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The Constitution and the Bill of Rights (Annabelle)

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The first draft of the Constitution was made up at the Congress in Philadelphia and set up a system of checks and balances that included a strong executive branch, a representative legislature and a federal judiciary but it did not include a specific declaration of individual rights. American people wanted strong guarantees that the new government would not trample upon their newly won freedoms of speech, press and religion, nor upon their right to be free from warrantless searches and seizures. The American Bill of Rights, inspired by Jefferson and drafted by James Madison, was adopted, and in 1791 the Constitution's first ten amendments became the law of the land. Generally saying, there was now a balnace between the legislative, executive and judical branches. The entire Bill of Rights was created to protect rights the original citizens believed were naturally theirs, protecting them from mistreatment by the government. The amendments include the right to believe and say whatever anybody wants to say, to own a weapon and to be defended in court if someone is accused for a crime.

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The cultural revolution (flower power etc.) (Julian)

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The cultural revolution (flower power etc.) (Julian)

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The Abolition of Slavery and its aftermath (Jim Crow laws...)  (Amelie)

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The Abolition of Slavery and its aftermath (Jim Crow laws...)  (Amelie)

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After the Civil War, slavery was officially abolished in the United States, but white citizens in the former Confederacy enacted "black codes" that denied black people everything from business ownership to property and even freedom of movement. In response, Congress passed the Reconstruction Amendments, designed to guarantee the liberty and rights of formerly enslaved people, but the south still undid as few codes as possible.  In 1877 the new President Rutherford B Hayes stopped the federal intervention in the South, so the Southern states passed hundreds of new segregation laws mandating differential treatment of black and white citizens. The facilities black people now had to use were inferior and in poor condition, black-white social interactions were banned, and black citizens were kept from the polls. With the Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act in 1964 and 1965, the Jim Crow Laws were abolished, but the effects are still seen today.

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The Korean and the Vietnam War  (Benjamin)

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The Korean and the Vietnam War  (Benjamin)

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Korean War:
- 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (3 years, 1 month and 2 days)
- North Korea invaded South Korea because of alternating border violations from both sites
-> clashes along the border
- North Korea was supported by China and the Soviet Union
- South Korea was supported by the United Nations, principally the United States
- first proxy war after WW1 between USA and Soviet Union
- After two years of negotiations, an armistice agreement was concluded on 27 July 1953
-> 940,000 soldiers and about three million civilians had been killed
- Korea is not reunited and there is no peace treaty until today

Vietnam War:
- 1955 to 30 April 1975
- North Vietnam and National Liberation Front vs USA and South Vietnam
-> war was in and around Vietnam
- proxy war between USA and Soviet Union
-> ended with victory of North Vietnam (conquest of the South Vietnamese capital Saigon)
-> first US military defeat in its history
- Vietnamese war victims estimated at 1.3 to over three million
- 58,220 US soldiers and 5,264 soldiers of their allies died
- up to a million Vietnamese were disabled or had health problems after the war

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The Reagan era in the 80s and its aftermath (Elijah)

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The Reagan era in the 80s and its aftermath (Elijah)

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Ronald Reagan was immensely popular and famous for his one-liners, winning a presidential election in all but one state. His staunch conservatism was expressed in increased military spending and an invasion of Grenada, economic deregulation (Reaganomics) and defunding of government agencies. In terms of the Cold War, Reagan took a strong anti-Soviet stance, labeling them an „Evil Empire“.

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The drifting-apart of the Republicans and the Democrats: Obama and Trump (Lukas)

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The drifting-apart of the Republicans and the Democrats: Obama and Trump (Lukas)

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Over time, the political oppositions got more and more divided. This happened because the major two parties, the Republicans and Democrats were the only impactful parties that could be voted for and there was no relevant middle ground. Through this the voters of each of the parties got more and more divided. This effect got strengthened by social media. It allowed bubbles to form and people to be radicalised in their believes.

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Manifest destiny was a widely held cultural belief in the 19th-century United States that American settlers were destined to expand across North America. There are three basic themes to manifest destiny:

1. The special virtues of the American people and their institution

2. The mission of the United States to redeem and remake the west in the image of the agrarian East

3. An irresistible destiny to accomplish this essential duty

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The american civil rights movement has its origins in the late 19. century, just after the american civil war(1861-1865).Almost a century later, there still was a big unsatisfaction among the american citizens, especially the black people surfered a lot in the past decades from segregation and discrimination. These were a few reasons why the civil rights movement has gained of importance during 1954-1964. The movement used new stratagies to put pressure on the government. They used their enormous number of members to create mass mobilizations with the key idea of non violent resistance. The first major mass mobilization took place after Rosa Parks was arrested for not giving a white person a bus seat. This resulted in a bus boycott. Beside Rosa Parks, there was another key person who had a big influence on the success of this movement- Martin Luther King. Especially, this man became the symbol of the civil rights movement because of his commitment to change something. After many boycotts, marches, sit-ins or Freedom Rides during 1955-1964 the president of the USA signed a law which disallowed racial segregation and contained civil rights for every american.

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The public requires that individual citizen have the commitment and motivation to promote the welfare of the community and to work together with other members for the benefit of all

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Each person is unique and special which stresses the need of independence and the value of privacy

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"Be First mentality", aggressive and competitive nature encouraged
-> important for the ideal of unlimited opportunities and the ideal: "From Rags to Riches"

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Critics see the American Dream as a clever political and
economic marketing strategy.They want people to get
away from selfish individualism and materialism, and to
return to community spirit and social responsibility.

The  huge gap between the rich and the poor in America is obvious, but at the same time the role of state welfare and political intervention in helping weaker members of society
remains controversial.

In social terms, the concept of a classless society has
never really become reality: The rich enjoy the benefits of material success while the middle class often takes several jobs to afford their lives

-->  America is a deeply divided country

The vision of America as a “melting pot of nations" never became reality (minorities fought against discrimination and new ethic groups refused to be culturally absorbed by American society)

->  America as a diverse and multi-cultural/pluralistic society

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Focusing on things rather than people and relationships. Material goods are seen as the fruit of hard work.

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A casual attitude instead of expressing arrogance and superiority.

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personal and religious freedom