Реферат на тему The national symbols of the USA.

Содержание:

Introduction 3

Chapter 1. State symbols of the USA 4

1.1. American Flag 4

1.2. Great Seal of the USA 6

1.3. US National Anthem 7

1.4. The national bird of the USA 7

1.5. American architectural symbols 8

Chapter 2. Intangible symbols of the USA 9

2.1. In God We Trust 9

2.2. Uncle Sam 10

Conclusion 12

Bibliography 13

Введение:

Every nation has symbols—specific objects that represent beliefs, values, traditions, or other intangible ideas that make that country unique. While these symbols may change over time, they can help to bind a nation together by reminding its people of their nation’s history and most important principles. National symbols of the United States are the symbols used to represent the United States of America.

There are many symbols that represent the United States of America as a whole, but each state has its own flag, its own emblem and its own anthem. National symbols embody the pride and values of the country.

State symbols are the main element of the constitutional and legal status of the state, insulting state symbols is always regarded as a grave violation and insult. The USA is the third largest country by land area and the largest economy in the world, which is why the study of the country’s state symbols is of interest and relevant.

State symbols often become the object of political struggle, their change takes place. Due to these circumstances, American state symbols are an important area for scientific research, since the United States belongs to those countries whose state symbols have undergone fundamental changes. In our opinion, the above circumstances indicate the relevance of the topic chosen for research.

The purpose of this work is to study the state symbols of the USA.

Based on the goal , it is necessary to solve the following tasks:

— study the state symbols of the USA;

— explore the intangible symbols of the USA.

Unlike other countries, the symbols of the USA are probably known all over the world, a large country with a strong economy, cannot but attract attention.

The tasks formulated above determined the structure of the work, which consists of an introduction, the main part, a conclusion and a list of references.

Заключение:

The seal of the US is installed on all official documents signed by the President. On July 4, 1776, Congress appointed a committee of Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, and Thomas Jefferson to organize the United States Seal project. After some time, the seal designed by William Barton was adopted by Congress in 1782.

The seal depicts an American eagle with a ribbon in its mouth, bearing the Latin phrase Epluribus unum, which means: «One has done a lot.» The chest bears the red and white stripes of the American flag. The eagle holds the olive branch of peace and 13 arrows of war. The flag with thirteen blue and silver stripes was carried by an American military unit in Philadelphia in 1775. However, the first official American flag, the Continental or Grand Union Flag, was displayed on January 1, 1775, when Americans surrounded Boston. It had 13 red and white stripes, symbolizing the first 13 American colonies.

In 1818, Congress passed a law on the condition that the flag of the United States would have 13 horizontal red and white stripes, and twenty stars symbolizing the 20 colonies of the American Union. It was also decided that in the admission of each new colony to the union, another star should be added to the flag. Thus, today there are 50 stars on the flag, symbolizing the 50 colonies in the American Union. Alaska was the 49th state, and the 50th star was for Hawaii. The 13 Red and white stripes symbolize the first 13 colonies of the United States of America. Now we know why the American flag is named «Stars and Stripes».

The red color on the flag symbolizes courage, white — purity, and blue — firmness and legality. There is a story according to which George Washington asked Betsy Rose to sew the first American flag, «Stars and Stripes» in 17T6, and she did it very well. By special order of Congress in 1931, the famous song, the Star-Spangled Banner, becomes the National Anthem of the United States of America.

Americans also have their official Creed, which expresses their attitude to the country and the political system. The creed was recorded in 1917 in the magazine William T.

Фрагмент текста работы:

Chapter 1. State symbols of the USA

No country can do without a flag, anthem and seal. The USA is no exception. Many articles and books have been written about each of these three symbols of American statehood. We will focus on the most basic facts that are important to know [1].

1.1. American Flag

In America, flags hang on government offices, along roads, and on the homes of ordinary citizens. The first thing that catches the eye of tourists is a large number of American flags. But do not be surprised, they were not posted for the holiday, this is their daily location.

The flag of the United States of America is the national flag of the United States, also known as the Star—Spangled Flag, is the official state symbol of the United States.

It is a rectangular panel with horizontal equal alternating seven red and six white stripes. There are 50 five-pointed white stars in the dark blue roof. 13 stripes symbolize the 13 British colonies that formed an independent state. The blue gooseberry symbolizes the Union. The number of stars in the blue roof corresponds to the number of states. Red represents endurance and valor; dark blue — diligence, justice, vigilance; white — innocence and purity.

The flag changed over time depending on the number of states that made up the Union. A new star is added to the flag on July 4 after the new state joins the union. The number of stripes remains unchanged; the only exception is the flag of 1795-1818, when 2 stripes were added along with two stars (later removed).

The first flag of the United States is considered to be the Continental flag, raised on December 3, 1775 by Lieutenant John Paul Jones on the ship «Alfred» in Philadelphia Harbor. Since 1776, the same flag has been used by the Continental Army.

The continental flag was a version of the British red aft flag used in British America with the addition of white stripes on it.

The flag for the Alfred was made by Margaret Manny. His banner consisted of 13 red and white equal horizontal stripes with the British flag in the roof.

Although there is no documentary evidence confirming the authorship of the drawing of the first star-spangled flag, historians, however, believe that Francis Hopkinson, whose signature among others stands under the Declaration of Independence, made changes to the design of the already existing unofficial Continental flag and it became the way we know it now. According to legend, the first American flag was sewn by a seamstress from Philadelphia — Betsy Ross.

Several modifications of the flag with 13 stripes were used from 1776 to 1777, until Congress approved the official flag on June 14, 1777 — now this day is celebrated as Flag Day.

The flag was first used at the Battle of Brandywine on September 11, 1777. And it was first raised over foreign territory in early 1778, and it happened in Nassau in the Bahamas, where the Americans captured a British fort. The flag received the name «Old Glory» on August 10, 1831, as Captain William Driver called it.

The so—called «Serapis Flag» is also known — the first US flag seen in Europe. In October 1779, the same John Paul Jones raised a homemade flag over the captured frigate Serapis from the British, so that the Dutch authorities could not accuse him of piracy.

The flag has been changed 26 times since it was first adopted by 13 colonies. For the longest time — for 47 years — a variant of the flag with 48 stars was used, and only after July 4, 2007, the current 50-star flag broke this record.

The 50-star flag was adopted in 1960 following the results of an open competition, in which the version of a 17-year-old schoolboy Robert Heft won [3].