History chapter 4 America Civil War

American Civil War1.The Origin of Civil WarThe first part is the origin of Civil War. In its early independence US has only 13 states and in early 19th century up to 25 states, until 20th century up to 50 states.This is a sketch map of American territorial expansion. I want to mention Westward Movement which promote the development of western industry. This is the difference between north and south.Northern capitalist Industrial and Commercial economy,1810-1860 American industrial output increased by 9 times. While the northern industrial output accounting for the proportion of 91% , accounting for 75% of the GDP Southern plantation slavery economy,In 1790 the number of Southern slaves up to 67.7 million, and by 1860 the number increased to 400 million.Planters squeezed a profit of $ 80 from every slave, to the year of 1860 squeezed profits rose to $ 1400-2000 per person.Everywhere in the south to sell slaves in the scene.Everyone has heard of this novel Uncle Tom’s Cabin,an anti-slavery novel.To a certain extent, it led to regional conflicts in the civil war in the US.It is the contradiction whether to keep or abolish slavery that result in Civil War. The conflicting focuses are the contradiction between northern capitalist Industrial and Commercial economy and southern plantation slavery economy.2.The development of Civil WarDevelopment timeline --BeforeThe Compromise of 1850 was formally proposed by Clay and guided to passage by Douglas over Northern Whig and Southern Democrat opposition. It was enacted September 1850:1.California admitted as a free state;2.Utah Territory and New Mexico Territory organized with slavery to be decided by popular sovereignty;3.Texas dropped its claim to land ,in return for the assumption of $10 million of the old republic's debt.4.Slave trade was abolished in Washington, D.C. (but not slavery itself);5.The Fugitive Slave Act was strengthened.[1]1850妥协是由粘土正式提出并由道格拉斯引导穿越北方辉格党人和南方民主党人反对。

刘云柯20120320 English class two How Is The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Great1. IntroductionWhen we talk about American literature, we can always think of American dreams----the pursuit of freedom and personal happiness----which ware also perfectly reflected in Mark Twain‟s masterpiece The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.There are few works of literature that lend themselves to so many interpretative analyses as Huckleberry Finn. It is a great American novel. Yet the same novel, so highly influential and much admired by writer and readers alike, has been one of the most controversial and frequently banned books of American literature. People who think this novel should be banned believe that Huckleberry Finn tells the story about a “bad boy”. However, the majority contemporary reviewers and later commentators on Mark Twain found the novel praiseworthy. The famous literary critic H.L. Mencken announced, “I believe that …Huckleberry Finn’is one of the great masterpieces of the world, that it is the full equal of …Don Quixote‟”.(M．Thomas) Ernest Hemingway once said: “All modern American literature comes from one book by Mark Twain called The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. It's the best book we've had.”(Hemingway)Many works of study about this novel have interpreted it from many different angels since its first publication in 1884. In the following part I want to analyze this novel from two aspects: characters and the theme2. CharactersAs I mentioned in the previous part, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is the best work that Mark Twain ever produced. The book tells the story of the escape of Jim from slavery and more important, how Huckleberry Finn, the protagonist, floatingalong with Jim and helping him as best as he could. During that adventure, Huckleberry Finn changed his mind, overcame his prejudice against black people and came to accept Jim as a man and a close friend as well.2.1 Huckleberry Finn----“the sound hea rt defeat the deformed conscience”.The protagonist Huckleberry Finn is a motherless and homeless outcast. He dislikes civilized ways because they are personally restrictive and hard. He is generally ignorant of book----learning. All of his virtues came from his good heart and his sense of humanity, far most of the things he was taught turned out to be wrong.During the journey down Mississippi river on the raft with Jim, Huck grows up in the society. He is no more than 14 and experiences a lot that other teenagers of that age can never imagine. At the beginning, he cannot see Jim as a proper human being. Because he was taught that slavery was good and right and the runaway slave should be reported. Through their escape down the river, he gets to know Jim better and believes that Jim is not only a man but also a good man. Thus he ends up by accepting him as a loyal friend. The process of Huck‟s transfer from conventional prejudice is what some critics called “the sound heart defeat the deformed conscience”.In the famous chapter 31, Huck‟s psychological maturity comes to a climax. He torn between what society tells him as right and what he instinctively knows to be right. In that chapter Jim was imprisoned in Phelp‟s plantation. On the one hand Huck felt he ought to help to return Jim to his owner Miss Watsons. But on the other hand his friendship with Jim making him wants to help him to gain free. Finally he tears up the letter he has written to Miss Watsons and resolves to help Jim escape. He says to himself “All right, then, I‟ll go to hell.” (Twain)This is a very important turning point, he decided to sacrifice his own sole to save Jim and he was fully run out the society and matured from a naïve boy to a man with his own value.2.2 Jim----the divine spark in manJim is another important figure in this novel. He is Miss Watsons‟ slave. Jim is as great a creation as Huck. Twain analyst Bemard De V oto calls Jim the only heroiccharacter Mark Twain ever drew in his novels. Jim‟s heroism lies in his kindness endurance courage and essential humanity.As I mentioned in the previous part, Huck finally realized that Jim is not only a man but also a good man. His kindness and sincerity is established in several ways. For example, also in chapter 31, we can find such a description---- this is a memory of Huck, from which we can feel Jim‟s kindness.I‟d see him standing my watch on top of his‟n,‟stead of calling me, so Icould go on sleeping; and see him how glad he was when I come backout of the fog; and when I come to him again in the swamp, up therewhere the feud was; and such-like times; and would always call mehoney, and pet me and do everything he could think of for me, and howgood he always was; and at last I struck the time I saved him by tellingthe men we had small-pox abroad, and he was so grateful and sad Iwas the best friend old Jim ever had in the world and the ONLY onehe‟s got now.(Twain)3. The Theme----slaverySlavery forms one of the main themes that have been frequently debated since The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn was first published. Literature is a mirror of culture, the literature of a country reflects the particular culture. In this novel the author sets the story in the cultural atmosphere of the society about 1850s in the south.The two decades from 1840 to 1860 in American history witnessedthree tides and one of the tides was about the two economic systems inthe North and the South. The plantation owners of the South insistedthat the slavery system should be kept because they considered that theslaves to constitute cheap labor, while the industrial capitalists of theNorth found free labor was more economical and therefore moreprofitable for their industry. （张奎武）But in south people still think that slavery is a good thing. For example Huck believesthat if he helps Jim he would go to hell. In chapter 31, the description of Huck‟s mental conflict is not only a triumph of sound heart over the deformed conscience but also reflects at that era most ordinary people are experiencing a mental battle about the struggle against slavery.But Twain himself is vehemently anti-slavery. Mark Twain is a great realistic writer of America. He thinks that it‟s the author‟s duty to expose social corruption and care about the common people‟s difficulty; from many aspects The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn can be seen as an allegory for why slavery is wrong.Firstly, by creating Jim, Twain shows the human side of a slave. In his novel slaves are not only working machines without emotions and rights, but like every ordinary people, they have some good qualities and some shortcomings indeed. Through analyses Jim I have mentioned some of his good qualities such as kindness and about shortcomings, for example they are ignorant and superstitious. In chapter 2 Huck and Tom played a trick on Jim by hanging his hat on a branch. After waking up, Jim made up a story about his travel with a devil. For us the story is so ridiculous that no one will believe it but for those “niggers” Jim suddenly became a hero. There is a passage can prove it.Niggers would come from all around there and give Jim anything theyhad, just for a sight of that five-center piece; but they wouldn't touch it,because the devil had had his hands on it. Jim was most ruined for aservant, because he got stuck up on account of having seen the deviland been rode by witches.（Twain）But in most cases Twain describes Jim‟s behavior with sympathy. For instance Jim runs away because Miss Watson was going to sell him“down the river”—that is, into the Deep South where instead of making a garden for nice old ladies or possibly being a house servant, he will surely become a field hand and work in the cane or cotton fields and separated him with his family; Jim was trying to run away because he wanted to because free so he could buy his family‟s freedom.There is also a very impressive detail. In chapter 15, they met a dense fog and they become separated, with Huck in the canoe and Jim in the raft. Tom alwaysshowed Huck how to play tricks on Jim before, so after experiencing a danger, Huck makes game of him once again. But this time Huck hurts Jim‟s sense of self-esteem. Then Huck recognizes his mean trick to his own friend, so he bravely apologizes to Jim．“But that was enough .It made me feel so mean. I could almost kissed his foot to get him to take it back .It was fifteen minutes before I could work myself up to go and humble myself to a nigger .” (Twain)A white apologizing to a black, this is a symbolic event. By “kissed his foot” we can really feel that Mark Twain treats slaves as an equal man, because this sentence coming from a white people is absolutely unimaginable for most of white people in the pre-civil war in America.4. ConclusionLong yingtai, a great writer, once delivered a speech entitled why should we learn literature history and philosophy at Taiwan University in 1999. In that speech she said the function of literature is to make people see “reflections of poplars in lake”which means that literature makes us to see the back of reality which is closer to the nature of a reality. In my opinion, the most important goals of a literary work is to enlighten people and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn totally achieve that goal. On the surface, the author told us a story about a “bad boy”, but in deeper sense, through this story Mark Twain admits that black people is as noble and loyal as every Americans. It is necessary for Americans to fight against racial discrimination and it is also an urgent thing to maintain Negro‟s freedom as w ell as their human rights and dignities. I think it is these noble spiritual kernels that make The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn “the best book we've had”.ReferenceM．Thomas，Huck Finn among the Critics：A centennial Selection, 1884-1984, United States Information AgencyErnest Hemingway, Ernest Hemingway,1935Mark Twain The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn 1885 chapter 31Mark Twain The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn 1885 chapter 15张奎武等英美概况下2008 吉林科学技术出版社PART TWO Chapter ⅣThe American Civil War。

Unit 1 Geographical Features and Natural Resources1. How many states are there in the United States? And which two states are geographically separated from the others? (50, Alaska, Hawaii)2. What are the general characters of the Rocky Mountains and the Appalachian Mountains.1) To the west of Atlantic coastal plain lie the Appalachian Mountains that begin in Canada and reach all the way to Georgia and Alabama. These are old mountains with rounded tops and wooded hills, usually not exceeding 800m in height. The highest point is only 2000m above the sea. Most of the mountain ridges are low enough to be easily crossed by modern highways. The Appalachians have much beautiful scenery and many tourist resorts. The Ohio and the Tennessee Rivers flow down the western slopes of the Appalachians to the great Mississippi River, deep in the heart of America.2) To the west of the Great Plains lie the Rocky Mountains, “the backbone of the continent”. These high mountains stretch all the way from Mexico to the Arctic and form what is known as Continental Divide, or Great Divide, the most important watershed on the continent. The Rockies are more than twice as high as the Appalachians and high enough to receive more rain than the surrounding plains and plateaus. Consequently, they are mostly forested. The striking and varied scenery of the Rockies has given rise to the establishment of many national parks here. The other natural wonders include roaming herds of buffalo, elk, deer, antelope and sheep, as well as the famous grizzly bear.Chapter 2 American Population1.Why is the United States known as a “melting pot”?It means that the US is composed of immigrants from different nations all over the world.①The people of the US are predominantly white.②The second most numerous minority in the US were the black people whose forefathers came fromAfrica.③American Indians were the original inhabitants on the continent.④There were about 50.5 million Hispanics in 2010 in the US. They are the Spanish-speaking immigrantsfrom Latin American countries.⑤The Chinese American have proved to be industrious and intelligent.2.What factors cause the Americans to move frequently within the United States?①The desire for economic betterment is generally the most important force inducing migration.②Geographic difference in economic opportunity, as reflected by such factors as differences inemployment opportunities and earning power for workers and differences in the availability and the price of land for farmers.③Noneconomic factors. Such as climate, racial attitudes, and family tires, influencing migration.3.Why do many Americans now migrate from cities to suburbs?①The widespread uses of automobiles and the construction of express highways made it possible forpeople to live farther away from their jobs.②The telephone reduced the need for them to work or live in close proximity to one another.③Suburban areas offered more living space than cities, lower crime rates, less pollution, and superiorschools. It is generally believed that they are better place for raising children.Chapter 3 Discovery and Colonization of the New World1. Discuss the pre-Columbian cultures in the Americas.1) The Aztecs of Mexico2) The Incas of Peru3) The Indians of North America4) Indian contributions to European culture: Foods, Drugs and Utilitarian objects2. Why did the discoveries of New World before Columbus not exert great influence in the world at that time?Because Europe was then poor and politically fragmented, It was beset by local wars and civil disorder and largely illiterate. In short, Europe was then incapable of responding to the Norse discoveries.3.Why did so many English people move to the New World in the 17th century?1) The New World was a great and rich land. In the New World there were all those resources necessary for agricultural and industrial development.2)During the reign of Queen Elizabeth I (1588-1603), the English in growing numbers realized that the New World was their best place to make their fortunes, and to worship and live according to their beliefs.3)Some of them might move to America to leave oppressive political institutions, to escape burdensome church duties, to acquire large landholdings or merely to change their general pattern of living. Of course, material gain was a common factor.4. What was the social structure of the 13 colonies?Society in the l3 colonies was like a pyramid.①The top was made up of merchants and landlords.②The base was made up of refugees from Europe, black slaves from Africa. And native Indians.5.Why did not the American Indians become slaves during the colonial days?As for Indians, they could not put up with slavery. If an Indian was enslaved, his fellow tribe members would fight to free him. So the colonialists soon gave up the attempt to use them as slave labor. Instead they seized the land of the Indians and drove them away or killed them.Chapter 4 American Revolution2. What happened on the evening of March 5, 1770?A clash between American colonies and British soldiers took place in Boston.①A group of unemployed laborer attacked a British sentry stationed at the Boston customhouse.②When the British soldiers dispatched to help the sentry arrived, they met a rapidly growing, angry crowd.③Someone gave the command for the soldiers to fire.④Three colonies were killed and several were wounded, two of whom later died.3. How did the colonies react to the Townshend Act?The colonies, however, still rejected the idea that the Parliament in Britain had the right to tax them without consent and reacted to these new duties by refusing to import any of the taxed goods.4. What were the main contents of the Declaration of Independence?①The Preamble, which explains why the Declaration was issued.②A statement of principles of government to which the American people were committed③A list of injustices suffered by the colonists.④A summary of efforts the colonies had made to avoid a break with the mother country.⑤The proclamation is that the “Colonies are Free and Independent States”5. What was the importance of the victory at Saratoga?The victory and Saratoga wa s a turning point of the war. It further heightened the spirit of the Americans, but more importantly it caused action abroad. It was after this battle that the French agreed to join the war against Britain. Later Spain and Holland joined France while most of the other European powers formed an Armed Neutrality to protect their commerce from Britain’s naval power.Chapter 5 the Confederation and the Constitution1. What is confederation?A confederation is a government in which the constituent governments, called states in the US, create a central government by constitutional compact but do not give it power to regulate the conduct ofindividuals.2. Compare the powers of the governments under the Articles of Confederation and the Constitution.3. What does the “check and balance” mean?It means that each branch of government-executive, legislative, or judicial-must exercise distinct powers and be selected in a distinct way, and that each branch must be able to “check and balance” the others if one branch grew too powerful and sought to dominate the others.4. What was the Bill of Rights?It guaranteed freedom of speech, religion, peaceful assembly, and the press; the right to bear arms; freedom from unreasonable search; and the right to the protection of certain legal procedures known as the due process of law.5. What were the chief causes of the War of 1812?①The British were not reconciled to the loss of their thirteen colonies. Using Canada as the base, they always challenged to battle with the young Republic.②This anger reaches its peak in 1807 when one British warship attached and boarded in American ship, killing and wounding 21men and impressing four sailors.③Jefferson persuaded Congress to pass an Embargo Act, which forbade all ships, except foreign ones without charge, to leave American ports.Chapter 6 American Expansion and the Civil War1. What was the importance of the Monroe Doctrine?The essence was” America for Americans”, which later became a cornerstone of the US foreign policy. As the New world developed in the years ahead this Doctrine became more meaningful and was strengthened by a broader interpretation to meet the needs of an energetic and ambitious United States.2. What were the basic causes of the Civil War?Two different social-economic systems existed side by side in the United States.In the South slavery was the foundation of the economic system while in the North industry and commerce were the main character of its economy. The swiftly growing industries in the North required the restriction of slavery as well as an expanding territory in order to provide capitalist production with raw materials, markets and abundant labor supply.The slave economy in the South was an obstacle to industrial growth and expansion. This economic antagonism led to increased conflicts between the North and the South.3. What was the doctrine of the “popular sovereignty”?This doctrine means that the inhabitants of the new territories can decide the question of slavery for themselves. In appearance, it seemed fair, but in actual practice, as far as slavery was concerned, the doctrine did not work.4. How do you comment on the American Civil War?The outcome of the war placed the northern capitalists in solid control of the federal government of the US capitalism. In 1865, the Thirteenth Amendment to the US Constitution was adopted, which freed all slaves throughout the United States.Chapter 7 Reconstruction and the Birth of US Imperialism1. What is the 10 percent plan?The plan provided that as soon as 10 percent of voters in any state had taken the oath of loyalty, they could form their own government and would be entitled to the recognition of their state by the president of the United States.2. Why was Andrew Johnson impeached by the House?In March 1867, Congress passed two Acts that took away two presidential prerogatives: the right to remove Cabinet members and the right to remove army officers under his command.To test the constitutionality of the Act, President Andrew Johnson removes Edwin M. Stanton, the Secretaryof War, from office in1869, who was the only remaining Radical in Johnson’s Cabinet.He thus walked into troubles with the radicals. Later the House voted to impeach the President.3. After the Reconstruction, how were the civil rights of the Blacks in the South?①Voters must be able to read and write;②Voting taxes were introduced;③The whites also took steps to segregate the blacks and two separate societies emerged in the South.4. Why did the US have a rapid industrial growth after the Civil War?①The vast industrial development began with the opening the West.②Speeding this process of western settlement were the railroads.③Science and technology were also greatly marching forward.④The basic industry of the nation, iron and steel, also developed rapidly after the Civil War.⑤The oil industry also developed rapidly.⑥During the latter part of the 19th industry, industrial expansion in America went ahead rapidly.⑦There was a clear indication of rapid concentration of capital.6. What was the “Open Door Policy”?The so-called “Open Door Policy”which demanded that all the imperialist powers should enjoy equal chance in China as freely as other aggressors.。

AP US History大事件知识点精析总结美国历史笔记总结战争：1、The War of Independence 1775-1782 (美国胜)美国独立战争(The American Revolution)，也称“北美独立战争”。

指1775年波士顿人民在美国莱克星顿与英军交战拉开独立战序幕到1783年英军在法国签订《巴黎条约》投降的战争。

美国独立战争既是一次民族独立战争，又是一次资产阶级革命。

英国政府于1773年颁布《茶税法》企图垄断北美的茶叶生意，他们给予英属东印度公司在北美倾销茶叶的专卖权。

此举激起了殖民地人民的强烈反对。

12月16日夜晚，“自由之子社”的部分成员化装成印第安人后，登上三艘停泊在港口的英国运茶船，将船上343箱茶叶统统倒入大海。

这就是有名的波士顿倾茶事件(Boston Tea Party)。

1775年4月18-19日，波士顿人民在莱克星顿上空打响了独立战争的第一枪，莱克星顿的枪声拉开了美国独立战争的序幕。

萨拉托加大捷是世界史上著名的战役，是北美英属殖民地十三州独立战争的转折点。

独立宣言：一七七六年七月四日大陆会议美利坚十三个联合邦一致通过的宣言独立战争又是一次资产阶级革命，它推翻了英国的殖民统治，创造了美利坚合众国，同时又铲除了殖民时期封建残余的长子继承法、续嗣限定法和代役税，奴隶制契约也基本上废除。

从而解放了生产力，为美国资本主义的发展开辟了宽广的道路。

正如列宁所说：“现代的文明的美国的历史，是由一次伟大的、真正解放的、真正革命的战争开始的。

”美国独立战争的胜利，对欧洲及拉丁美洲的资产阶级革命起了推动作用。

它结束了英国的殖民统治，实现了国家的独立，确立了比较民主的资产阶级政治体制，有利于美国资本主义的发展，对以后欧洲和拉丁美洲的革命也起了推动作用。

美国独立战争没有解决土地问题，也没有解决奴隶制问题，使得独立后的美国南北方朝着两种不同的经济道路发展，最终导致美国内战(南北战争)的爆发。

美国内战英文介绍The American Civil War (1861–1865), also known as the War Between the States and several other names, was a civil war in the United States of America. Eleven Southern slave states declared their secession from the U.S. and formed the Confederate States of America (the Confederacy). Led by Jefferson Davis, they fought against the U.S. federal government (the "Union"), which was supported by all the free states and the five border slave states.In the presidential election of 1860, the Republican Party, led by Abraham Lincoln, had campaigned against the expansion of slavery beyond the states in which it already existed. The Republican victory in that election resulted in seven Southern states declaring their secession from the Union even before Lincoln took office on March 4, 1861. Both the outgoing and incoming U.S. administrations rejected secession, regarding it as rebellion.Hostilities began on April 12, 1861, when Confederate forces attacked a U.S. military installation at Fort Sumter in South Carolina. Lincoln responded by calling for a volunteer army from each state, leading to declarations of secession by four more Southern slave states. Both sides raised armies as the Union assumed control of the border states early in the war and established a naval blockade. In September 1862, Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation made ending slavery in the South a war goal, and dissuaded the British from intervening. Confederate commander Robert E. Lee won battles in the east, but in 1863 his northward advance was turned back at Gettysburg and, in the west, the Union gained control of the Mississippi River at the Battle of Vicksburg, thereby splitting the Confederacy. Long-term Union advantages in men and material were realized in 1864 when Ulysses S. Grant fought battles of attrition against Lee as Union general William Sherman captured Atlanta, Georgia and marched to the sea. Confederate resistance collapsed after Lee surrendered to Grant at Appomattox Court House on April 9, 1865.The American Civil War was the deadliest war in American history, causing 620,000 soldier deaths, and an undetermined number of civilian casualties, ending slavery in the United States, restoring the Union, and strengthening the role of the federal government. The social, political, economic and racial issues of the war decisively shaped the reconstruction era that lasted to 1877, and continue into the 21st century.Emancipation 黑人解放运动Race Liberation Movement is the movement started by the black people who call for the equal rights with the white people in the USA, the UK, South Africa and other countries where Racial Discrimination exists.种族解放运动是黑人为了得到与白人相同的权利和地位而发起的运动Many historians consider Robert E. Lee the greatest general of the Civil War, and it is generally agreed that his military genius, hampered though it was by lack of men and materiel, was a principal factor in keeping the Confederacy alive. Others point out, however, that he never developed a coordinated overall strategy, that he failed to provide an adequate supply system for his armies, and that he was reluctant to deal with difficult subordinates, such as Longstreet. Of admirable personal character, Lee was idolized by his soldiers and the people of the South and soon won the admiration of the North. He has remained an ideal of the South and an American hero, although some late 20th cent. historians have tended toward a more critical view of him as a general and as a man.。

《英语国家概况》各章节概要知识点——美国部分1. Population, Race and Ethnic Groups 人口与民族世界第三人口大国，20世纪90年代人口增长更加迅速，将来60年还将迅猛增加。

预计将从1992年的25，550万，增加到2000年的27，500万。

移民是人口增长的主要来源，基本开放的移民政策。

现在多数移民来自亚洲和拉丁美洲。

城市化高，最大的城市：纽约，洛杉矶，芝加哥，旧金山，费城。

1946-1964是生育高峰，20世纪80年代人口老龄化趋势。

美国是移民国家。

第一批移民来自英国和荷兰，为了逃避宗教迫害，寻求更好的生活，契约劳工。

三次移民浪潮：第一次移民浪潮始于1805年，1845年到达高峰，许多爱尔兰人迁入。

第二次移民浪潮从1860-1890。

第三次移民浪潮从1890-1914，是最大的一次。

来自奥匈帝国，意大利，俄国，希腊，罗马尼亚和土耳其。

Characteristics of the American population 美国人口的特征流动性。

四次大规模的人口流动：第一次从内战结束到1880年，西进运动。

从东海岸向西部迁移。

第二次从1890-1920年，随着工业化和城市化的实现，人口从农村涌向城市。

第三次从1920-1960年，大批黑人离开南方涌入外地。

第四次从60年代至今，从东北部向西南部的阳光地带迁移。

Black people and the Civil Rights Movement 黑人与民权运动黑人是美国人口最多的少数民族。

自1619年作为奴隶贩运到北美洲，集中在南部农业区，生活悲惨。

代表小说《汤姆叔叔的小屋》和《根》。

1863年林肯的《解放奴隶宣言》和1865《宪法》第13条修正案正式结束了奴隶制，但仍存在歧视。

1954年布朗诉教育委员会一案，开始了漫长的废除种族隔离的进程。

60年代爆发民权运动。

1964年通过《民权法案》，1965年通过《选举权法案》。