Introduction to Contrastive Country Studies

Main Points of the Lecture Famous historical events and documents Geography / Demography Racial groups / Ethnicity Multiculturalism Great Britain Famous Historical Events and Documents (1) 1. Domesday Book 1086 a meticulous survey of feudal estates in England. 2. Magna Carta 1215 a legal charter requiring King John (Lackland) to accept that his will is bound by the law 3. Act of Supremacy 1534 King Henry VIII declaring that he was the only supreme head on earth of the Church of England 4. Bill of Rights -1689 - rights of the citizens of the constitutional monarchy in the late - Subjects rights to petition the monarch - the Crown should seek the consent of the people Great Britiain Famous Historical Events and Documents (2) the Bill of Rights + Magna Carta + Parliament Acts = the basis for the British Constitution no single constitutional document unwritten constitution the statutes passed by Parliament are the UK's supreme and final source of law Parliament can change the constitution simply by passing new Acts of Parliament Great Britiain Famous Historical Events and Documents (3) The Glorious Revolution of 1688, also called the Bloodless Revolution James II overthrow the end of the absolutistic rule of the Stuarts (Catholitics) 17th century

The beginning of modern English parliamentary democracy parliaments power has steadily increased, the Crowns power has steadily declined Catholics were denied the right to vote and sit in the Parliament for over 100 years after this Other Important Historical Events The Hundred Years War : 1337 1453 fight between two royal houses for the French throne Result: the English lost all their territories in France except for Calais The Wars of the Roses : 1455 1487 Dynastic wars between the the Houses of Lancester and York Results: a. a period of great social upheaval in Feudal England b. a movement towards the Renaissance. The British Empire the largest empire in history by 1921 it held one quarter of the world political, cultural, linguistic legacy widespread after WW II most of the territories became independent joined the Commonwealth of Nations (the British Commonwealth: 1931 / the statute of Westminster)

US History Famous Documents and Events (1) 1. The Mayflower Compact 1620 drafted by the Pilgrims 2. The Declaration of Independence 1776 principle author: Thomas Jefferson two main ideas: individual rights, the right of revolution (effect French revolution / European revolutions US History Famous Documents and Events (2)

 The American Revolutionary War : 1775 1783 colonies rejecting the authority of the British Parliament forming self-governing independent states states joining against the British (Parliament verus the Monarch) 1776 The Declaration of Independence (see before)

US History Famous Documents and Events (3) The American Civil War (18611865), also known as the War Between the States war between the north and the south over slavery Result: a. the end of slavery in the USA b. the strengthening of the federal government c. social, political and racial issues of the war shaped the reconstruction era that lasted to 1877 (and continue into the 21st century)

US History Famous Documents and Events (4) The Constitution of the United States of America 1787 shortest and oldest written constitution provides framework for the organization of the US Government defines the three main branches of government and the powers they can exercise The first ten amendments are called the Bill of Rights

The Ideological Origins of the American Revolution and the Roots of American Human Rights 1/ The Founding Fathers philosophy: right to revolution The writings of John Lock (British philosopher) If government became tyrannical, people should resist it.

 Locks ideas in the Declaration of Independence People are born with natural rights of life, liberty and property. (+ the pursuit of happiness) Roots of the British Constitution Key date : 1215 King John was forced to sign the Magna Carta: sharing powers with the barons Main idea: shifting political power from the monarch to ordinary people or their representatives Sources of the constitution:

Common law the system of laws developed through decisions of courts Conventions the duty of the Sovereign to act on the advice of her ministers are not formally enforceable by law Royal prerogatives - a collection of powers belonging to the Sovereign

Roots of the Hungarian Constitution (1) unwritten for centuries based on customary law for centuries 1222 the Golden Bull: legal document defining the relationship between the king the nobles 1517 Tripatrium Opus by Verbczy a summation of the common law

Roots of the Hungarian Constitution (2) - laws with constitutional force first enacted during the 1848 Revolution - 1919 a provisional Constitution (Hungarian Soviet Republic) - present constitution: a new comprehensive amendment of the 1949 constitution

US Facts and Figures 50 states + a federal district

 situation: central North America area: 9.83 million square kilometres population: more than 300 million the third largest country in the world the possession of several islands around the West Indies (e.g Puerto Rico) US Geography and Demography five main regions: Northeast Southeast Midwest Southwest West

US Regional Characteristics (1) The Northeast the oldest region ; the largest city and the smallest state (New York; Rhode Island)

The Southeast home to the oldest settlement (St. Augustine, Florida, founded in 1565 by a Spanish explorer)

The Midwest agriculture

- the flattest region, the Bread Basket of the USA, lakes for fishing, flourishing

US Regional Characteristics (2) the Southwest: the only area where four states meet at a single point Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma the Four Corners great Spanish influence

different climate and land forms the West: diversity of natural beauty, mountains, beaches, wildlife home to the US Mint, the deepest lake in the US (Crater Lake), Yosemite Falls (13 times higher than Niagara Falls)

US Regionalism and People Northeast: thrifty, reserved, dedicated to hard work, a sense of cultural superiority Midwest: class divisions are felt less strongly West: people feel alianeted by government policy, significant cultural diversity South: people are more conservative and more religious, strong ties to hometown and family, forms of black music are typical US Demography highly urbanized nation 81% of the population resides in cities/suburbs the most populous states: California, Texas total fertility rate: 2.1 children per woman people under 20 years of age 27.6% people over 65 years of age national median age US Race / Ethnicity Composition (2007) White African American Asian Native American + Alaskan Native Multiracial Hispanic or Latino 1% 1.6% 15.1% 80% 12.8% 4.4% 12.6% 36.7 years

 From the 17th century to the early 19th century: a. settlers from the German-speaking area b. Jews from the Netherlands and Poland c. settlers from the British Isles (a, b, c are usually called settlers, not immigrants!)

The first era of mass immigration 1820-1880 15 million immigrants Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Bohemia, Germany, Catholic immigrants from Ireland Conflicts: a. between Protestant native Americans and the Irish Catholics b. between Chinese immigrant native Americans Result of conflicts: a. intensifying Nativism b. Chinese Exclusion Act - 1882

The second wave of immigration in the USA (end of the 19th century - beginning of the 20th century 25 million Europeans immigrants from southern and eastern Europe: Italy, Greece, Hungary, Poland + other Slavic/speaking nations, including about 2.5 to 3 million Jews made up the bulk of US industrial labour pool

The Third Immigration Wave in the USA (1920-1965) 1921 the National Origins Act (quota system)

preference to immigrants from northern and western Europe limiting the number of immigrants from eastern and southern Europe No immigrants from Asia were allowed to enter the USA

Doing away with the quota system in 1965 (Hart-Cellar Act)

Geography and Demography (UK) When people say England, they sometimes mean Great Britain, sometimes the United Kingdom, sometimes the British Isles but never England. How to be an Alien by George Mikes

largest, eighth largest, 35 kilometres away, joined undersea rail network (31.4) Japans Seikan Tunnel (33.49), six thousand islands, low-lying, mountain range Orkney Islands Hebrides Highlands Loch Ness Ben Nevis Grampian Mountains Firth of Forth Clyde River Firth of Clyde Great Britain land and climate: lack of extremes five main regions: the South West Country East Anglia the Midlands Northern England - Socio-economic point of view: north-south Southern Uplands Cheviot Hills Mourne Mountains Isle of Man Cumbrian Mountains Pennines Irish Sea Cambrian Mountains The Wash Cotswold Hills Chiltern Hills Thames River Isle of Wight Isles of Scilly Channel Islands Shetland Islands

divide

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland 1536 - Act of Union joins England and Wales 1707 - Act of Union unites Scotland and England, together with Wales to form the Kingdom of Great Britain. 1801 - The Irish Parliament voted to join the Union. The then Kingdom of Great Britain becomes the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. 1922 - Name changed to United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, when most of the Southern counties in Ireland choose independence. The British Isles (1) The British Isles consists of the following islands: Great Britain (England, Scotland and Wales) Ireland (the Republic of Ireland, not part of the UK) Northern Ireland ( part of the United Kingdom) The Orkney and Shetland Islands Islands off the northeast coast of Scotland The Isle of Man Hebrides The Isle of Wight An island off the southern coast of England Isles of Scilly An island off the southwest coast of England Lundy Island An island off the southwest coast of England The Channel Islands A group of small islands in the English Channel, off the coast of Normandy, France. The principal islands of the group include Jersey, Guernsey, Alderney and Sark. Plus many other offshore islands

Demography (UK) The population of the UK: 60,943,912

 Age structure: 65 years and over: 16% (male 4,186,561/female 5,549,195) Birth rate: 10.65 Death rate: 10.05 Migration rate: 2.17

Ethnicity Ethnic groups: English 81.5%, Scottish 9.6%, Irish 2.4%, Welsh 1.9%, Ulster 1.8%, West Indian, Indian, Pakistani, and other 2.8% Immigration waves in the UK (1) 1. settlers: after 410 AD (Rome collapsed): 2. Angles, Saxons from the north of Germany 3. Anglo-Saxons bloody end battle of Hastings, 1066 Result: a flood of the Norman French Positive influence: a. civic order in the form of centralized government b. development of architecture and literature c. the Norman French language merging with Anglo-Saxon 4. the immigration of French protestants after 1685 (Huguenots driven out of France by Louis XIV) 5. 19th century thousands of Irish people potatoe famine in 1848 6. end of the 19th century the advent of Nazi power: Jews fleeing prosecution 7. start of modern immigration: June, 1948

from the West-Indies, Hong Kong, China, East Africa the Windrush arrived at Tilbury from Jamaica

Multiculturalism multiculturalism: ideology of racial, cultural and ethnic diversity promoting social cohesion the USA the melting pot ideal multiculturalism adopted as official policy abolishing the system of national-origin quotas (1965) British Multiculturalism (1) background: the break up of the British Empire transformation into the British Commonwealth (end of the 19th century) 1948 British Nationality Act the right to British citizenship was extended to Commonwealth citizens Immigrants status was no inferior to that of the native population - weaker racial tolerance today (terror attacks) - racial intolerance towards Muslims - multiculturalism fading - multiculturalism versus integration / assimilation Here we have to distinguish between multiculturalism as an outcome of the struggle for equality emanating from below, and multiculturalism as government policy imposed from above. Tony Blair - the danger of descending into Nativism US Multiculturalism culturism contradicts racism multiculturalism as the tolerance of diversity As Ben Franklin (1706, Founding Father) said, "We must hang together or we will surely hang separately." multiculturalism excludes core culture the melting pot ideal vanishing