Civilisation et culture

de bétail, repoussant toujours plus loin la frontière entre « sauvagerie et civilisation », tandis que les Indiens meurent et que les bisons disparaissent.

Civilisation et culture

From East to West – Western expansion – The Native Americans

Compréhension orale Compréhension écrite Expression orale

The Oregon Trail The Encounter Talking God

Présenter un document iconographique An Encounter : présentation orale Talking God : présentation orale Prononciation en groupes de souffle

Expression écrite Méthodologie

Écrire un récit d’un autre point de vue Comment utiliser le dictionnaire

Compétence linguistique

Traduction de could, as Le plus-que-parfait Auxiliaires modaux

Séquence 2-AN01

61

Civilisation et culture

Task

On the East Coast: the ideals of 1789

Read the information and study the documents

1789 in America: George Washington was elected the first US President. In the year of the French Revolution, Washington proved to be a man of his time, representing its ideas of freedom and justice. In 1787, he had been one of America’s Founding Fathers who drafted the First World’s first written constitution in Philadelphia. The Founding Fathers firmly believed in democracy. The foundation of the United States is built on 3 written documents: the Declaration of Independence of 1776, the Constitution of the United States in 1787 followed by the amendments of 1789, known as The Bill of Rights. Read some extracts below to begin to understand what drives the Americans.

Séquence 2-AN01

63

The Constitution of the United States, 1787 We the People of the United States, in order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America …

The Bill of Rights, 1789

Déclaration des droits de l’homme et du citoyen, 26 August 1789 by the French Assemblée Constituante.

Article premier Les hommes naissent et demeurent libres et égaux en droits. Les distinctions sociales ne peuvent être fondées que sur l’utilité commune. Article 2 Le but de toute association politique est la conservation des droits naturels et imprescriptibles de l’homme. Ces droits sont la liberté, la propriété, la sûreté et la résistance à l’oppression.

Amendment I Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press … Amendment II A well-regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.

La Déclaration des Droits de L’Homme et du Citoyen was inspired from the American Declaration of Independence and the philosophers of the 18th century.

Mount Rushmore

The four figures carved in stone on Mount Rushmore represent the first 150 years of American history. They are the faces of four popular American presidents: George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln.

Thomas Jefferson, the third president of the United States (1801-1809) was one of the Founding Fathers. It was he who drafted and signed the Declaration of Independence. He was close to the French, having once lived in Paris in 1785 as minister to France where he succeeded Benjamin Franklin. He is said to have helped draft the Déclaration des Droits de l’Homme, influenced by American, French and European revolutionary ideas of the time.

Portrait de Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826) Bouch © Photo RMN© Daniel Arnaudet

When the Constitution of the United States was announced he declared that it was a standing monument and a permanent example for other peoples. He wrote: “It is impossible not to sense that we are acting for all mankind ”.

64

Séquence 2-AN01

Answer the following questions

a) Compare the American Declaration of Independence and the French Déclaration des Droits de l’Homme et du Citoyen on page 84. Underline the words that have the same meaning in French and in English. Underline the important element that belongs to the American document and not to the French one. b) Studying the Amendments to the Constitution would you say that in the United States the State is separated from religion? .............................................................................................................................................................. c) American people today believe they have a right to own firearms. How do they justify this? ..............................................................................................................................................................

Task

Western expansion from1803: the Manifest Destiny

Read the information and study the illustrations

CANADA

WASHINGTON MONTANA OREGON NORTH DAKOTA

MINNESOTA

PACIFIC OCEAN

NEVADA

IDAHO WYOMING

SOUTH DAKOTA IOWA NEBRASKA

UTAH CALIFORNIA

COLORADO

KANSAS

MISSOURI

ARIZONA

OKLAHOMA NEW MEXICO

ARKANSAS

TEXAS

LOUISIANA

MEXICO

In 1803, Jefferson was quite pleased when Napoléon, in a surprise move, offered the whole Louisiana territory to the Americans for 15 million dollars. Overnight, the United States territory was doubled, growing by about one million square miles, from Mississippi to the Rockies and from the Gulf of Mexico to Canada.

The Manifest Destiny was a belief that started shortly after the purchase of Louisiana and grew strongly during the war against Mexico (1846-1848). It was believed that the United States were inevitably fated to extend their border to the Pacific Ocean and to expand both north and south as well. It was by divine providence that the destiny of the new country was to be a model of civilisation and democracy for the rest of the world to follow. The war of the democratic United States against the ex-Spanish colony of Mexico, which was always claiming land and creating conflicts on the border, was therefore justified. The USA were victorious and Mexico stayed within its present border. Mexico gave up Nevada, Utah and part of Colorado, the former Mexican territories of Texas, California, Arizona, New Mexico, to the United States.

Meanwhile the immigrants kept flooding in as gold was discovered in California in 1848. Between California and the East Coast remained an awful lot of land.

Séquence 2-AN01

65

Fill in the blanks and answer the question

a) Find and underline the English for the following words: croyance :........................................... l’achat :...................................... destiné : .............................. frontière : ..................... s’étendre :............................ arriver en masse : .................................... b) Quote the sentence which may explain why some Americans believe their society is an example for the rest of the world. ........................................................................................................................................................

« Check your answers.

Task

The dream of land made real

Read the information

BRI TI SH NORTH A MERI CA

Astoria Portland Ft. Withman's Vancouver mission Willamette Valley

UNORGANIZED T E R R I TO RY M I N N E S OTA T E R R I TO RY

OREGON TERRITORY

Ft. Boise Ft. Hall South pass Ft. Bridger Ft. Kearny Ft. Laramie

IOWA