英美概况况复习题

3. What were the effects of European settlement on the Aborigines?

White settlement in 1788 proved disastrous for the Aborigines. (1) Aboriginal culture and society

were totally disrupted because of a total conflict of cultures. (2) The loss o land to white people led to the breakdown of their tribal life because Aboriginal culture was based on the land. (3) After losing their land, Aborigines became dependent on white handouts. They copied the European habit of drinking alcohol, which destroyed large numbers of Aborigines. (4) The whites also brought many diseases which the Aborigines had no resistance to. (5) All these, combined with the violence between Europeans and Aborigines resulted in the drastically reduction in Aboriginal population. The Aborigines have always been in unfavorable position ever since 1788. The Aborigines still face legal, political, economic and

social discrimination today.

4. Sinn Fein

Sinn Fein was the Irish guerrilla movement that wrested independence from the British in 1921. It spit in 1921 over the Anglo - Irish Treaty and became two parties, Fianna Fail and Fine Gael, which

remains to be the two major political parties in Ireland today.

VI.

1. Tell briefly the history of the two - party system in the United States. What are the characteristics

of the two major parties in the United States today?

There nave been four periods in the history of the two - party system in the United States. (1) During the Ratification period, the first two major parties appeared. They were the Federalists and the Anti - Federalists. After the adoption of the Bill of Rights, the Anti - Federalists began to call themselves Democratic - Republicans. The Federalists gradually disintegrated. (2) After the 1828 election of Andrew Jackson, the Democratic - Republican Party split. The main faction led by Jackson was called the Whig Party which formed in 1834. As the struggle over slavery intensified, the majority of the Whig Party, part of the democrats, and other anti - slavery elements formed the Republican Party in 1854. (3) From 1860s to 1920s, the Republican Party dominated the political scene. (4) From the time of President Franklin Roosevelt to the 1980s, the Democratic Party was dominant, with short interruptions.

Traditionally, the Democrats support government intervention in the economy and a strong social security system. While the Republicans stress the role of the market more and oppose large government

social security programs. But the two parties are not really very different. They both believe in individualism, defend capitalism and uphold private ownership of means of production. Their

organizations are both very loose. But they are both very significant in political life.

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