The U.S.A. - Two Talks On The United States Of America By Alistair Cooke From BBC Schools Broadcasts

'Side One aims at presenting a colourful impression of the country and its people which should arouse interest among pupils and possibly encourage individual research. It also provides a basis for the second programme, a more specialised study of a limited area; and so it could be regarded as the starting point for a series of lessons covering the racial, political and economic forces which have created the USA, as well as current American attitudes and policies.

Content - A brief description of the country 250 years ago and a comparison with the super-power of today, with some indications of its present prosperity; some reasons for the transformation - for example, the natural resources available and the diverse skills and knowledge of immigrants; the size of the USA, and the effect this has on Presidential electioneering tours, for instance; communications; the varied industrial pattern; Red Indians, immigrant and negroes; some of the causes of emigration from Europe; population distribution; mobility of the population; wage levels and working conditions; the standing of living; hopes and fears for the future.


Side Two - The subject of this regional study is 'The South'.

Content - Various definitions of 'The South'; 'a state of mind and a heritage'; the peoples who came to live here; the importance of the old South in American politics; Civil War and reconstruction; the place of the South in national statistics - for medicine, social services, living standards and literacy; the industries which have come to the South, especially during and since the second world war; the changing South in terms of economic changes (agricultural improvements and industrial diversification), social changes (resulting from growing urbanisation) and political changes (caused by factors such as racial integration policy).'[discogs]