This topic deals with the American history in connection with English literature. This deals with the relationship of America to England that leads to the Anglo-American literature and the division or distinction between American English and British English.

1. AMERICAN
HISTORY AND
LANGUAGE

2. American History
Leif Ericson – leader of the Icelandic Vikings, the first Europeans
to reach North America about the year 1000 but failed to
establish a settlement
Christopher Columbus – an Italian explorer and navigator who
sailed west from Europe and landed on one of the Bahama
Islands in the Caribbean Sea in 1492
- from the Republic of Genoa who completed four
Spanish-based voyages across the Atlantic Ocean
sponsored by the Catholic Monarchs, opening the way for
the widespread European exploration and European
colonization of the Americas
2

3. Discovery of America
3

4. Significant Periods of American History
A. The Colonial Era
1620 - Puritans founded Plymouth Colony and later became
Massachusetts which was the second permanent British
Settlement in North America and first in New England
July 4, 1776 - The Continental Congress adopted a
Declaration of Independence
1781 – the last major battle of the American Revolution at
Yorktown, Virginia
Treaty of Paris in 1783 – officially ended the war of two
years, by which England recognized American
Independence
4

5. Significant Periods of American History
B. A New Nation
The constitution made the government to divide it within 3 branches namely,
legislative which consist of the congress, executive, the president, and the federal
agencies and judicial which consists of the federal courts. Also, by including 10
amendments known as the Bill of Rights to safeguard individual liberties.
During this period, there were two towering figures with different agendas and
goals. First was George Washington who was a war’s military hero and the first
U.S President, favoring a strong president and central government. Then, Thomas
Jefferson who was the Principal Author of the Declaration of Independence,
favoring to allot more power to the states because they would be more
accountable to people.
5

6. Significant Periods of American History
C. Slavery and Civil War
Year 1828 when Andrew Jackson became the first outsider elected
president, born in a poor family and outside the cultural traditions of the
Atlantic Seaboard. The ringing words brought by the declaration of
Independence “all men are created equal” were meaningless for 1.5
million slaves. Slavery was permitted in the new state of Missouri and the
Arkansan Territory. The issue continued for years.
Civil War was the most traumatic episode in American History. But it was
resolved with vexing matters. It put an end to slavery and decided that
the country was not a collection of semi-independent states but an
invisible whole.
6

7. Significant Periods of American History
D. The Late 19th Century
Within few years after the Civil War, United States became a
leading industrial power. Paved the way for series of inventions,
telephone, light bulb, phonograph and motion pictures. During
1898, US and Spain went to war.
7

8. Significant Periods of American History
E. World War II
Bombing of Pearl Harbor naval base in
Hawaii by the Japanese in December 1941
brought the US into the War, first against
Japan and against its allies, Germany and
Italy. The war in Japan came to a swift end
in August of 1945 when President Harry
Trauman ordered the use of atomic bombs
against the cities of Hiroshima and
Nagasaki. Nearly 200,000 civilians were
killed.
8

9. Significant Periods of American History
F. The Cold War
Tensions developed between United states and its wartime ally Soviet
Union. Soviet control of Eastern Europe, The Korean War and the Soviet
development of atomic and hydrogen bombs instilled fear in Americans.
Careers had been destroyed and the American People had all but lost
sight of the cardinal American virtue: toleration of political dissent. It was
on 1960 when John F. Kennedy was elected as President who promised
to get the country moving again. October 1962 when Kennedy faced with
the most drastic crisis of cold war, the Soviet Union had been caught
installing nuclear missiles in Cuba, close enough to reach American
Cities in a matter of minutes. He imposed a naval blockade on the island.
9

10. Significant Periods of American History
G. Decades of Change
After World War II, the Presidency has alternated between Democrats
and Republicans, but Democrats had held majorities in the Congress-
both House of Representatives and Senate. Although the economy was
strong in the mid-1990s, there are still phenomena that were troubling
many Americans. Corporations were resorting more and more to a
process known as downsizing: trimming the workforce to cut costs
despite the hardships inflicted on workers.
10

11. American English
Americanism - created or changed from other English terms to
produce a language that differs from their forefathers,
signifying their uniqueness and independence
1720 - English colonists began to notice that their language was
quite different from that spoken in their Motherland
1735 - the English were calling American’s language as
“barbarous,” and referred to “Americanisms” as
barbarisms.
Samuel Johnson- made the first “official” reference to the
“American dialect” in 1756 a year after he published his
Dictionary of the English Language
11

12. American English
In 1789, Noah Webster wrote in his Dissertations on the English
language: “The reason for American English being different than
English is simple: As an independent nation, our honor requires us
to have a system of our own, in language as well as government.”
Furthermore, during 1790 when the United States took its first
census, there were four million Americans, 90% of whom were
descendants of English colonists. The reason why official native
language of America would be “English” was that leaders,
including Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin, agreed that it
was not only good politics, but it was also sensible.
12

13. American English
Early examples of words that had become obsolete or were no
longer used in England that continued to be used in the United
States were allow, guess, reckon which means to think. Other
words that were simply “created” included such terms as
“groundhog,” an animal that didn’t exist in England; “lightning rod”
for whiskey; and hundreds of others. For other terms, the
meaning was changed, such as fork, though continued to be used
as a term for an eating utensil, Americans began to also use the
term to mean a branch of a road or a river.
13

14. American English
English thought Americans were particularly barbaric as the
pronunciations of words changed like bhar instead of bear,
knowed instead of knew, lay instead of lie and missionary instead
of mission’ry. But the most atrocious or seemed to be very bad to
the English was the heavy use of contractions such as ain’t, can’t,
don’t, and couldn’t. The language changed even more during the
western movement as numerous Native American and Spanish
words became an everyday part of their language.
14

15. American English
In 1923 during the State of Illinois General Assembly, they passed
the act stating in part: The official language of the State of Illinois
shall be known hereafter as the “American” language and not as
the “English” language. A similar bill was also introduced in the
U.S. House of Representatives the same year but died in
committee. It was on 20th Century that the evolution of the
American language continued After World War I. When
Americans were in a patriotic and anti-foreign mood, the state of
Illinois went so far as to pass an act making the official language
of the state the “American language.”
15

16. American Society and Culture
American culture - encompasses the customs and traditions of the
United States
United States - the third largest country in the world with a population of
more than 325 million, according to the U.S. Census Bureau
- one of the most culturally diverse countries in the world
- sometimes described as a "melting pot" in which different
cultures have contributed their own distinct "flavors" to
American culture
16

17. American Society and Culture
Religion - nearly every known religion is practiced in the United
States, which was founded based on religious freedom
71% - identified themselves as Christians according to
information gathered by the Pew Research Center, a
nonpartisan research group, in 2017
23% - no religious affirmation
6% - made up of non-Christian religions.
17

18. American Society and Culture
American Style - clothing styles vary by social status, region,
occupation and climate
- jeans, sneakers, baseball caps, cowboy hats and boots are
some items of clothing that are closely associated with
Americans
Some Well-known American Brands
1. Ralph Lauren 3. Victoria Secret
2. Calvin Klein 4. Michael Kors
- widely influenced by celebrities and the media
18

19. American Society and Culture
The Arts- the United States is widely known around the world as a
leader in mass media production, including television and
movies
- according to the U.S. Department of Commerce, the United
States comprises one-third of the worldwide media and
entertainment industry
Early 1950s - television broadcasting industry took hold in the United
States and American television programs are now shown around the
world
New York - home to Broadway, and Americans have a rich theatrical
history.
American folk art - an artistic style and is identified with quilts and other
hand-crafted items.
American music - very diverse with many styles, including rhythm and blues,
jazz, gospel, country and western, bluegrass, rock 'n' roll and hip hop.
19

20. “History is always written by the winners. When
two cultures clash, the loser is obliterated, and the
winner writes the history books-books which
glorify their own cause and disparage the
conquered foe.”
20
Dan Brown, American novelist (1964- present)

21. Thank you!
21