Download 3) The Supreme Court

4th Largest country
in the world
Made up of 50 states
Richest country in
the world
Leading country in
world affairs
Population of 300 million
Population is made up of
many different ethnic groups:
White
77%
African-American
11%
Hispanics
8%
Asian
3%
Native Americans
1%
White Black Hispanic Asian Native
The American political system is made up of 3 branches...
1) The President
Barack Obama
President of the United States
The White House
2) Congress (Parliament)
Congress is made up of
the Senate and House of Representatives
Capitol Hill,
Washington D.C
3) The Supreme Court
The highest court in the land.
The first group to
settle in America
were the Native
Americans.
They came to
America from Asia
25,000 – 35,000
years ago.
1492 Columbus
“discovered” America...
...from then on Europeans
started to settle in
America.
Soon afterwards, Britain claimed
America as one of its colonies.
From the late 15th Century
Europeans needed people to
work on the plantations
producing tobacco, sugar,
cotton, and coffee.
Africans were shipped to
America to become slaves.
By the mid-1700s Americas wanted to be free from
British control
The American Wars of Independence were fought
between 1775 and 1783
In 1776 America declared itself a free and independent
country when the leaders wrote the:
Declaration of Independence
The founding fathers set out how the country was to be
run by writing a very famous document called...
The US Constitution
It consists of...
3 articles on powers of
the President, Congress
and Supreme Court
27 amendments
(changes added over the
years)
The first president of the United States was...
George Washington
In 1861 a Civil War broke out between
the states in the North and South.
During the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln gave
slaves their freedom.
The American Civil War ended in 1865 and many former
slaves moved to the north to find jobs in the cities.
From 1850 a vast influx of people from all over the world,
especially Europe, came to live in America (immigrants).
IMMIGRATION – How immigrant experiences varied
depending on their country of origin, colour of skin and
culture.
CIVIL RIGHTS – Treatment of Black Americans and
their fight for equality and freedom in the 20th Century.