The United States of America Today

1. The United States of America Today TOPICS

2. N.Y. Sightseeings Florida The political system Statue of Liberty Washington D.C. Death Penalty Seattle National Parks The F.B.I San Francisco U.S. Navy SEALs West frontier Los Angeles Native Americans J.F.K Space Center Alaska Settlers & Immigrants Georg W. Bush

3. John-F.-Kennedy Space Center - NASA

4. 1. Location of the J.F.K. Space Center 2. The Space Center 3. History 3.1 Kennedy, John Fitzgerald (1917-1963) 3.2 John F. Kennedy's enthusiasm for technology - source of the name of the Space Center 4. NASA 4.1 National Aeronautics and Space Administration 4.2 Projects 5. The USA - center of technology and progress Von Sabine Dinter

5. Location of the J.F.K Space CenterThe Kennedy Space Center is located on a barrier island, called Meritt Island in Florida, about 34 miles long and varying in width from five to 10 miles. The total land and water area covers just over 140.000 acres. In addition many people don’t know that the Kennedy Space Center is also a National Refuge. The federal state of Florida borders in the north upon the federal states of Alabama and Georgia, in the east upon the Atlantic Ocean and in the west upon the Gulf of Mexico.

6. Geographical position

7. 2. The Space CenterThe KSC is managed by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. It is the main base for launches of satellites and rockets in the USA. The Patrick Air force Base is situated there too. The Kennedy Space Center has hosted millions of guests from around the world for more than 30 years. It is a special event to look how a space shuttle starts its voyage to the universe.

8. The Spaceshuttle

9. 3. History3.1 Kennedy, John Fitzgerald (1917-1963)He was the 35th president of the United States of America (1961-1963). Kennedy was born on May 29 in 1917 as the second son of a banker, Joseph P. Kennedy in Brookline (Massachusetts, USA). He studied at Harvard University. During the Second World War, he was a commissioned officer in the US-Marine.

10. 3.2 John F. Kennedy's enthusiasm for technology • - source of the name of the Space Center • John F. Kennedy was committed to technology and progress. He wanted to have independent space politics. He gave the responsibility to intelligent persons with great experiences. With his work the discovery of the universe really started. In his honor, the space center in Florida is called the John F. Kennedy Space Center.

11. 4. NASA4.1 National Aeronautics and Space AdministrationThis civil institute was founded in 1958 with the help of organizations like NationalAeronautics and Space Act. At first it was called National Advisor committee for Aeronautics (NACA). NASA controls and plans all American space projects (like satellite programs or unmanned space flights). At first NASA worked only for civil projects but with the beginning of the Space Shuttle Program, it now works in the military sector too. But after the Challenger disaster in 1986 NASA stopped the research in space. NASA has many places for launches, for example the J.F.K. Space Center (also called Cap Canaveral), institutes of research like Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California (progress of probes) and last but not least the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center in Houston (Texas). The administration of NASA is in Washington D.C. .

12. 4.2 ProjectsNASA is the program that launched men to the Moon,(Apollo project), orbited satellites that have improved our lives and sent probes into distant space to solve the mysteries of the universe.

13. 5. USA - Center of technology and progressAeronautics and Space Administration is the most important part for the future. NASA is the main project in the world. NASA remains a leading force in scientific research and in stimulating public interest in aerospace exploration, as well as science and technologyin general.

14. Sources:- Microsoft Encarta 98 Enzyklopädie- Zweiburgen ”Sie schrieben die Geschichte der Menschheit”- www.nasa.gov

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16. The life of Native Americans today 1. pasta)    the image of Native Americans in the pastb)   historical background2. todaya)    spreadingb)   living conditions today c)    politics for Native Americansd)   the position of women3. future a) still problems to deal with b) how to fight these problems By Johanna Ostermeier

17. The life of Native Americans today The following text deals with the situation of the Native Americans in the USA today. How their lives have changed and which problems still remain. 1/a)The image of Native Americans in the past First there‘s the old image of Indians, that has its roots in the past and which is about a wise chief.Sometimes people even thought of some savage people living in wigwams.Some people still have this idea of Native Americans and they don’t see them as very peaceful nations that love nature.But in most parts of society, especially as far as the law is concerned that has changed.

19. 1/b)Historical backgroundIn spite of all disadvantages they have tried to resist immigration since Christoph Columbus came to their shores.After the cruel wars between Natives and immigrants, the USA acknowleged the Natives as American citizens in the year 1924.Today they have the same rights as every other citizen of the United States, but unfortunately their material and cultural situation hasn’t changed enough till now.2/a)SpreadingOn these two maps one can see that there are still a lot of Native Americans living in the USA today.The first one shows into which cultural areas the Native Americans are divided, and that they are spread on a very large territory. Into which language areas the Indians are divided is shown on the second map.Both maps clear up how widespread the Natives are in our days.It says that Natives can be found in the whole United States.

20. geographical areas 1 southeast 2        southwest 3        plains 4        Arizona 4a plateau 5        California 6        northwest coast 7        subarctic zone 8        arctic zone 9        northeast

21. geographical areas

22. 2/b)Living conditions todayA statistic from 1990 tells that about 1,959.000 Native Americans live in America and that makes 0.8% of the whole American population.These persons belong to 267 reservations in the country.The Natives are divided into tribes and the largest 3 ones are the Cherokee, the Navajo and the Chippewa.Some of the smaller tribes are for example the Appaches, the Iroquoise and also the Sioux.These days almost 60% of all Natives (see on the next picture), have to live below the poverty line.It is known that the Indians have kept only three per cent of their original land they had before the immigration.The American government has paved laws to improve this situation, but there are still some negative points like that there are 80% of all nuclear activities of the United States near or even on reservations of Native Americans and this is a fact.Unemployment is another problem for the Indians because they don’t want to leave their traditions behind and move into a big city, so there are only a few jobs on a reservation.The result of this conflict between tradition and a new world is that there are nearly 80% unemployed Natives.Most of them depend on support by the state.So the government started special programes like building ready-made and prefabricated houses.

23. That‘s good because so nearly every Indian has a home.But there are also negative aspects like the big temperature differences in the USA for which isn’t shown considerence because these houses are standardized and all out of wood.Also the Natives claim that the government doesn’t respect their cultures like their traditional houses. About the reservations it can be said that in a few of them there are bad living conditions.Some Native Americans have to walk 30 or 40 kilometres to fill up their water tank and others have to cover almost 150 kilometres to reach a hospital.So it is imaginable that it is a problem to visit a family member who is ill, with their low material possibilities. Although the state tries to support this part of its population, noone can deny that the Native Americans are still the most disadvantaged ethnic minority in the United States of America.

24. Two children

25. 2/c)Politics for Native AmericansThat’s all about the material aspect but the political situation shouldn’t be forgotten.In comparison to the past, the American government has changed a lot, in a positive way for theNatives.In the earlier years things like taking children from Native families and putting them into ´´normal`` families were allowed, to offer them good education.It was also permitted to sterilize the women of a tribe, what was called „birth-control“.All this had an end in the year 1978 with a new law called the „Indian Child Welfare Act“, which didn’t permit this anymore.A second law fixed roots to save the traditional religion of Natives.It was called „American Indian Religious Freedom Act“.It was made, to let the Natives practise their religion in freedom.Also now they are supported in different areas like education, so that Indian children have the chance to go to school.This should help them for their later lives and to get a normal job.The government wants to give the Native American children a possibility to get into the normal American society, if they want to.But some activists for the rights of each Indian continue to claim that the Natives‘ situation still depends on the goodwill of each US government and that they don’t have true independence yet.

26. 2/d)The position of womenNow lets turn to the situation inside Indian society.Especially in the time of female emancipation something should be said about the womens‘ situation, too. In the Native American culture women are told, they were born to be a wife.In an Indian marriage the two partners have to fulfil their duty. There is no place for single women in a tribe the chiefs say. Because of that the Indian women were despised for a long time by the ´´Whites``, but these women have always been respected by the men in a tribe and even in our days Native American women attach a lot of importance to marriage, getting children and their traditions.

27. 3/a)Still problems to deal withA problem for them is that Indians still want to get real independence from every state, but many of them are still stuck in poverty.Their political rights have changed and are the same as the rights of everyone else but the Natives claim that there has been no big change in material and cultural things.3/b)How to fight these problemsThe important point to find solutions for problems is always to have respect for each other and to be tolerant.So the Natives and the state could make compromises to improve the present situations.

28. Sources:-www.indianer.de/indies/heute6.htm-www.indianer.de/indies/heute.htm-www.indianer.de/indies/widerstand.htm-www.indianer.de/indies/frau.htm-www.indianer.de/indies/Staemme.htm-World and Press special: Native Americans (their place in history and contemporary society)-www.indianer.de/indies/galerie3.htm-www.indianer.de/indies/impress0.htm-www.indianer.de/indies/Indios3.htm-www.indianer.de/indies/Indios1.htm-www.home.snafu.de/matthias.kuhnke/indian/qp.htm

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30. Florida • History • Geography • Miscellaneous • Map of South Florida • Pictures By Jenniffer Grabmeister

31. 1.History:Florida was the first part of continental America discovered by Europeans. In 1513 it was discovered by the Spanish conqueror Ponce de Leone. Florida owes its name to the day of the discovery, Easter. Ponce de Leone named it " pascua Florida " which means so much as " flowering Easter ". Besides the name of Florida and some estates in St. Augustine, the oldest settlement in the USA, not much has remained of the " old Florida ". The first settlers did not have the means to survive of hurricane, floodings and termites in the long run. Miami and surroundings are a political and economic exile for Cubans, Nicaraguans, El Salvadorians who form more than half of the population of Greater Miami together with French-speaking blacks from Haiti. The Cubans have created a large well-to-do middle class in almost 40 years of exile which spends a lot of money in hope for the Communist regime of Fidel Castro, 300 kilometers to promoting the breakdown of the south of Miami. Most of them don’t think of returning, because today almost all feel as part of a bigger world. Besides, it is the same for them as for the descendants of generations- of immigrants who went ashore in Florida since the 16th century .

32. 2.Geography: Florida is the most southern and 27th Federal State of the USA which is surrounded by water on three sites- from the Atlantic and the Gulf of Mexico. Moreover, Key West is the most southern point of the USA. The approximately 13 million inhabitants live on about 97000 squarekilometres. The capital is not as one would think Miami, but Tallahassee. No place in Florida lies farther than 100kms removed from the sea and if one disregards all islands,the coast line amounts to 3000kms.Florida counts about 350 suns days in the year, therefore, comes also the surname "Sunshine State ". The temperatures sway between 15 degrees in winter and about 30 degrees in summer. However, from August to November must be expected hurricanes.

33. 3.Miscellaneous: "The American way of life " is a mix of myths. Freedom and leisure, sun and sands, optimism and openness, fast money and fast pleasure are connected with Florida. Nowhere else in the United States of America one may nowhere experiences this cheerful and easy-going way of life as in Florida. About 43 million guests come to Florida per year. And it is not only the white beaches which lure many guests there. Nature lovers visit Everglades with their rare animals, divers come for a lot of coral reefs and are fully rewardid. An ideal destination in Florida for families with children is the holiday area which can be founded around Orlando with Walt Disney World as a center of a multiplicity of amusement parks.

34. Key West claims the most beautiful sunset of the world and naturally Miami, the metropolis with Caribbean atmosphere, is also a popular destination. The modern touch one can seen in the apartment houses in Miami and in the powerful bridges which span the Keys and the bays. It can also be found in the computer industry and armaments industry in which many people work. During the last 100 years Florida has become the most prosperous state of the USA. The mood is cosmopolitan. However, the northwest forms an exception. In its "Panhandle" Florida is still conservative and religiously severe. In addition its inhabitants are known as patriots and weapon lovers.

35. 4.Map of Florida

36. Palm Beach Harbor

37. Sunset at Keywest

38. The Everglades

39. Sources:www.floridazeitung.dewww.marcopolo.de www.florida100.de

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41. StructureI Settlers1.     General2.     Different groupsII Immigration1.     Immigrants in the Past2.     Immigrants Today By Julia Kreglinger

42. I.SettlersAfter the discovery of America by Columbus in the year 1492, the Europeans didn’t see the land as a settlement area at once. Only later, after having explored the land thoroughly, the first settlers arrived.In 1539, for example 600 Spaniards landed in Florida.The settlers of different countries of Europe subjected different large parts of the “New World”, and had accordingly more or less influence:The Englishmen, who mainly settled at the Hudson Bay, in Virginia and New England, defended themselves successfully against other occupying powers. In the English colonies everyone was allowed to live, who accepted the English king. That was, because of the distance to the homeland and to the king, very easy to do.

43. At the fertile Mississippi was the second-strongest colonial power, there were Frenchmen.They tried to keep their social structures in America.A lot of succesful businessmen went there, and became wealthy in the ”New World”.In the area around Mexico, Florida and North Carolina there were the Spanish settlers.The only intention of the Dutchmen, living in Manhattan on the Hudson River, was to build a trading base, which the Englishmen bought later.A lot of the settlers employed mainly slaves, who were brought forcibly from Africa over the Atlantic Ocean.

44. II.ImmigrantsThe immigrants, who caused the population growth in the past, can be divided into three temporal groups:PERIOD IMMIGRATION GROUPS 1820 – 1880 Germans, Irishmen, Englishmen 1880 - 1920 Poles, Russians, Italians, Hungariansfrom 1920 Asiatics, LatinamericansIn the 19th century the number of inhabitants in America grew about twentyfold.Because of this development, the government decided to limit the number of immigrants that were allowed to come to America in the 20ies. They preferred influential persons like the scientist Albert Einstein, because they already had sufficient people employed in industry.

45. All immigrants, irrespective of time and nationality, had the same aim: They all wanted to live freely and independently in the “New World”.

46. To this day the United States of America is still a favourite destination for immigrants from all over the world.Today, most of the immigrants come from Asia, Latin America, the Caribbean and African countries, and several follow family and friends, who immigrated years before.The immigration law of 1990 says, that one million immigrants a year can enter the United States of America legally.Including illegal entries to the United States, annual immigration today amounts to about 0.3 percent of the whole population.A good example is New York City: Nearly one of every four residents is foreign-born. The largest group of a single nationality, who have come to this city were the Dominicans.

47. California, Texas and New York are most concerned about immigration. Nearly one third of the immigrants arriving in the United States each year land in California. Reasons are the proximity to Latin America and the Pacific Basin, where most of the immigrants come from, the booming economy and so the prospect of jobs.The Hispanics are the fastest growing population segment. Around 22 million Hispanics live in the United States, but about 3 million have no legal status. They immigrated illegally from:Mexico, particularly on the Pacific seabord where the “wetback” loophole remains (that means a possibility for illegal immigration by swimming over the border), Haiti, Cuba and troubled central American countries as Nicaragua and El Salvador.

48. Finally here is a comparison of the percentage of the different population groups in America in the course of 20 years: 1980: 67% Whites, 8% Blacks, 7% Asians and 19% Hispanics _____________________________________________________2000: 54% Whites, 8% Blacks, 8%Asians and 27% Hispanics

49. Sources:-internet (www.lycos.de; www.web.de) -World and Press ,Special : “IMMIGRATION, the U.S. Melting pot today”-World and Press, Special : “USA Today”

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