9781422276556

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Origins of Independence Days N ationhood is a relatively modern concept. It was only during the late 18th century that people in Europe and North America began forming themselves into nations. For that reason, national days and independence days are all fairly new holidays. With a few exceptions, the earliest national days arose in the late 1700s; the most recent date from events that occurred in the 1990s.

words to understand

Apartheid : The practice in South Africa between 1948 and 1994 of keeping blacks and whites strictly separated in most areas of life. Diaspora : A scattering; the dispersal of the people from a nation or ethnic group to places other than their traditional homeland. Capitalized, it refers to the experience of the Jewish people. Empire : A state that has its political center in one place but exercises control

over a number of other states or populations. Vanguard : The leaders of a movement or action.

t  The Sons of Liberty was an underground organization created in the years before the American Revolution to protect the rights of colonists and oppose British taxation of the colonies.

Origins of Independence Days n

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