British & US History

How much do you know about British and American history?
Here we have a few highlights.
After you have read the information, answer the questions that follow:

COMPREHENSION:

1. When was Stonehenge built?
2. Who were the Celts /kelts/?
3. What's Londinium?
4. Where did the Anglo-Saxons come from?
5. For how long did the Vikings settle in Britain?
6. Who was William the Conqueror?
7. Why are Henry VIII and Elizabeth I renowned in history?
8. When did the World Wars take place?

A brief look at US history

 Native Americans have lived there for thousands of years. English people in 1607 went to the place now called Jamestown, Virginia. Other European settlers went to the colonies, mostly from England and laterGreat Britain. France, Spain, and the Netherlands also colonized North America. Many Native Americans were killed, died of disease or lost their land.

In 1775, a war between the thirteen colonies and Britain began, when the colonists were upset over changes in British policies. On July 4, 1776, rebel leaders made the United States Declaration of Independence. They won the Revolutionary War and started a new country. They made a constitution in 1787 and a Bill of Rights in 1791. George Washington, who had led the war became its first president. The new nation faced many controversial issues, such as slavery.

During the 19th century, the United States gained much more land in the West and began to become industrialized. In 1861, several states in theSouth left the United States to start a new country called the Confederate States of America. This caused the American Civil War. After the war,Immigration resumed. Some Americans became very rich in this Gilded Age and the country developed one of the largest economies in the world.

In the early 20th century, the United States became a world power, fighting in World War I and World War II. Between the wars, there was an economic boom called the Roaring Twenties when people became richer and a bust called the Great Depression when most were poorer. The Great Depression ended with World War II.

The United States and the Soviet Union entered the Cold War. This included wars in Korea and Vietnam. During this time, African-Americans,Chicanos, and women sought more rights. In the 1970s and 1980s, the United States started to make fewer things in factories. The country then went through the worst recession it had since the Great Depression. At the end of the 1980s the Cold War ended, helping the United States out of recession. The Middle East became more important in American foreign policy, especially after the September 11 attacks in 2001.

COMPREHENSION:

1. By whom and when did the settlements in America begin?
2. When did US become independent?
3. Who was the first US president?
4. What caused the American Civil War?
5. What is the Great Depression?
6. What significant fact took place at the end of the 1980s?_______________________________________________

Finally, you can watch this video and revise some facts.