Explanation: Starting a new job is always difficult because youre doing many things for the first time. But starting a job that is new and has never existed before is even more difficult because no one has ever done the things that youre being asked...
Explanation: There were many great men among the Founding Fathers (or the people who helped to create the United States), but only one of them is called the Father of our Country. His name was George Washington, and although he is best known for havi...
Explanation: Early to bed, early to rise (or get up) makes a man healthy, wealthy (or rich), and wise (or intelligent). This was just one of the many quotes (or famous phrases) of a man named Benjamin Franklin that are still popular today. Benjamin F...
Explanation: After the Constitution was written, it still had to be ratified (or approved) by the states. This meant that the people in each state had to vote in favor of (or for) the Constitution. The Federalists were a large group of people who sup...
Explanation: Have you ever worked hard to write a long report or essay and then waited anxiously (or with a lot of worry and stress) to find out whether the teacher would like it? The men who wrote the Constitution (or the countrys most important leg...
Explanation: When the 13 American colonies (or areas of land ruled by Great Britain but far away from it) got their independence (or freedom) from Britain, they did not have a strong government. They agreed to follow a document called the Articles of...
Explanation: Once Europeans arrived to North America, they began to fill up the land very quickly. Many Europeans moved to the land that would later become the United States. European countries like Britain, France, and Spain created colonies (or are...
Explanation: Sometimes when an American wants you to sign your name (or write your name in a way that only you can do it, usually to show that you agree with something), he or she will say: Put your John Hancock here. That phrase relates to the U.S....
Explanation: There is a funny story that shows how many Americans think of Thomas Jefferson, the third president of the United States. One day, President John F. Kennedy (our thirty-fifth president) was in the White House, which is the building wher...
Explanation: When people first began living in the British colonies (or areas of land that belonged to Great Britain but that were far away), they still thought of themselves as British citizens. But over time, something changed. They began to rebel...
Explanation: When Europeans began to live in the United States, they had a lot of work to do. They needed to make farms so that people would have enough to eat, build towns and cities, and build roads so that people could go between the towns and cit...
Explanation: Most Americans are taught that an explorer (or a person who goes to an unknown place to learn about it) named Christopher Columbus discovered (or found) America in 1492. But the truth is that millions of people were already living in Nor...
Explanation: When the New World (or North and South America before many Europeans were living there) was discovered (or learned about for the first time), going there was a big adventure (or an exciting experience in ones life, especially involving t...
Explanation: In the United States, military service (or the time spent working in the army) is voluntary (or optional and something that one chooses to do). Under normal conditions, no one has to serve in the army if he or she doesnt want to. However...
Explanation: There is a very well-known saying in English: The only sure things (or things that will definitely happen) in life are death and taxes. Just like there is no way to avoid death (or to not die), there is no way to avoid paying taxes, whic...