United States

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The United States of America is a country on the continent of North America.

United States of America
Flag Coat of arms
Official flag Official Coat of Arms
National information
National motto: (1776 - 1956): E Pluribus Unum
(Latin: "Out of many, one")

(1956 - ): In God We Trust
National anthem: The Star-Spangled Banner
About the people
Official languages: None at federal level,
some states specify,
English de facto
Population: (# of people)
  - Total: 300,000,000 (Est. Oct 2006) (ranked 3rd)
  - Density: 78 per mi² / 30 per km²
Geography / Places
country map
Here is the country on a map of the world.
Capital city: Washington, D.C.
Largest city: New York City
Area
  - Total: 3,718,711 mi² / 9,631,418 km² (ranked 3)
  - Water: 181,273 mi² / 469,495 km² (4.875%)
Politics / Government
Established: Independence: Revolutionary War
 - Declared: July 4, 1776
 - Recognized: September 3, 1783
Leaders: President George W. Bush
Economy / Money
Currency:
(Name of money)		 US dollar ($) (USD)
International information
Time zone: -5 to -11
Telephone dialing code: 1
Internet domain: .US .UM .EDU .GOV .MIL

Contents

Other names for the United States of America

The United States of America has many different names.

Names that are used the most:

  • "America" (This can also sometimes mean all of North America and South America.)
  • "The United States"
  • "USA" or "The USA"
  • "US" or "The US"
  • "The United States of America"
  • "The States"

Names that are used less:

  • "The Union"
  • "Uncle Sam" (This name refers to the government or military of the United States of America)
  • "The US of A"
  • "US and A"

Government

The federal government is set up by the Constitution. There are three branches of government. They are the executive branch, the legislative branch, and the judicial branch. State governments work very much like the federal government.

Executive branch

The executive branch is the part of the government that enforces the law. Members of the U.S. Electoral College elect a President who is the leader of the executive branch, as well as the leader of the Armed Forces. The President decides whether or not the bills that the Legislative branch passes will become laws. He may also make "executive orders" to make sure people follow the law. Two famous executive orders were when Abraham Lincoln made the Emancipation Proclamation and when Dwight D. Eisenhower ordered 1,200 soldiers from the 101st Airborne Division to allow the Little Rock Nine into a school that didn't let African Americans in. The President is in charge of many departments that control all of the different parts of the government. For example, Department of Commerce makes rules about trade and business. The President chooses heads of departments, and judges at the federal (nation-wide) level. However, the Senate, part of the legislative branch, must agree with all of the people he chooses. The President may serve two 4-year terms, making 8 years in all.

Legislative branch

The legislative branch is the part of the government that makes laws. The legislative branch is made up of Congress. Congress is divided into two "houses".

One house is the House of Representatives. The House of Representatives is made up of Representatives, who are each elected by voters from their own state. The number of Representatives a state has is based on how many people live there: the more people a state has, the more representatives it gets. Representatives serve two-year terms. The total number of representatives today is kept at 435. The head of the House of Representatives is the Speaker of the House, who is also the person who would be president if the President and Vice President were not able to.

The other house is the Senate. In the Senate, each state is represented equally, by two Senators. Because there are 50 states, there are 100 senators. Before the President makes treaties or appoints officials, the Senate must approve them. Senators serve six-year terms. The head of the senate is the Vice President.

Representatives and Senators suggest laws in Congress, then vote on them. These are called "bills". If one house agrees to a bill, it gets sent to the other; if both houses vote for it, it is then sent to the President, to agree to it or not. If the President does not agree to the bill, it is sent back to Congress. If Congress votes again and there is a two-thirds majority, the bill becomes law anyway.

Judicial branch

The judicial branch is the part of government that interprets what the law means. The judicial branch is made up of the Supreme Court and many lower courts. If the Supreme Court decides that a law is not allowed by the Constitution, then it is not a law anymore. The Supreme Court is made up of 9 judges, called Justices. The head of the Supreme Court is called the Chief Justice. A Supreme Court Justice serves until he or she either dies, or resigns (quits in the middle of his or her term). When that happens, the President chooses someone to be a new Justice, to replace the one who left. If the Senate agrees with that choice, the person becomes a Justice. If the Senate does not agree with the President's choice, then the President has to nominate someone else.

History

The place now called "the United States" has been lived in since prehistoric times by Native American tribes. In about 1607, the British founded colonies in the eastern part of today's United States of America. The Europeans brought diseases, like smallpox, that killed many Native Americans because the natives had never been exposed to these diseases before, while the Europeans had been used to them for a very long time. Also, the colonists wanted the land the natives lived on for thousands of years. They killed most of the Native Americans that were left, or forced them to leave most of the land where they lived, though in a very few cases, they did buy land from them.

After a while, the colonists who settled in the British colonies did not enjoy being ruled from Britain. They felt that the heavy taxes the British made them pay were unfair because they were not being represented in the British government. "No taxation without representation," became a popular phrase. The more the Americans said they didn't like British rule, the more soldiers the British government sent to oppress them. Events like the Boston Massacre and the Stamp Acts only made Americans more upset. By 1775, the colonists had decided to fight the British soldiers who were sent to control them, and on July 4, 1776, people from 13 colonies signed the United States Declaration of Independence. This said from that point on, they were free and independent states. Britain tried to recapture the colonies in the American Revolutionary War, but they failed.

During the American Revolution and right after it, the United States was much more loosely organized than it is today. Each state had more power than the United States as a whole. In other words, the government was not centralized. That government structure was set in 1781. The paper outlining that government is called the Articles of Confederation.

After a time, the United States wanted a stronger government. So in 1787, a constitution was written. The Constitution is a document that says how the government works. Very soon after, the Bill of Rights was added. This was a set of 10 changes, or amendments, that limited the government's power and guaranteed rights to the citizens. The US Constitution has been changed and added to many times since then. The main idea is that the government is a representative democracy elected by the people, who all have the same rights. However, this was not true at first, when only white males who owned property could vote. This was only changed after the American Civil War, by the 13th, 14th, 15th, and 19th amendments.

The United States was mostly farm land before the industrial revolution around the mid 19th century. Many new states were added to the original 13, as the nation grew.

The Civil War lasted from 1861 until 1865. Several states in the southern part of the United States wanted to break away and start a different country. They disagreed with the other states about policies like slavery in the new territories, and how much power the states should have to make their own laws. The national government (which was made up of the states that remained, all of which were in the northern part of the United States) won the war. Because of the war, slavery ended in the United States.

After the Civil War, there were more problems in the west between the white settlers and the native Indians as more people began to move west. Because of this, many more Indians were killed.

After 1900

In the 20th century, the US had more contact with other countries. In 1917, the US got involved in World War I and helped quickly defeat Germany and its allies. After World War I, the United States was the world's second richest and most powerful country.

The Great Depression happened in the early 1930s, when a lot of people could not find a job. There were a lot of reasons for the Great Depression, but one of the main things that made it come as quickly as it did was the stock market crash of 1929, in which a lot of people lost a lot of money in a very short amount of time. Some people lost all their money in only a few days, since the stocks they had bought in the years leading up to it were now worth almost nothing.

Later, the US was involved in World War II, and was and important part of several other wars and military activities, including:

In 1991, the US led other countries in what it calls the Persian Gulf War, after Iraq invaded Kuwait.

On September 11, 2001, the United States was struck by a major terrorist attack. About 3,000 people died. Terrorists took control of four airplanes, in what is called a hijacking. They crashed all four of the planes on purpose.

Two of the planes crashed into the World Trade Center, a pair of skyscrapers in New York City. One plane crashed into the Pentagon, the main office for the U.S. military, in Virginia. The fourth plane crashed in a field in Pennsylvania after the passengers fought back.

Most of the hijackers were from Saudi Arabia and thought the US army should not be in Saudi Arabia, because they thought it was holy ground where only Muslims should be. A group called Al Qaeda, led by Osama bin Laden, admitted they were behind these attacks, and they were based in Afghanistan, where they were supported by the Taliban Afghan government.

The attack led to big changes. The United States government responded by going to war against Afghanistan and driving out the Taliban. After that, it went to war against Iraq. The Iraq war was against the will of the majority of the world, because the Iraqi government was never involved with Afghanistan. The war caused massive demonstrations all over the world.

Immigrants from many nations now live in United States. Today's immigrants are mostly people from Latin America (especially Mexico) and Asia, with smaller groups of people from Europe and Africa.

Politics

The United States of America consists of 50 states, 5 territories and 1 district, all of which have 'limited autonomy.' This means that states can make laws about things inside the state, but if the national government makes laws that say different things, the law the state made is not a law any more, and people only have to follow the national law. Each state has a constitution of its own, different from the federal (national) Constitution. Each one of these is like the federal Constitution, but they only talk about how each state's government is set up.

The federal and state government is dominated today by two groups of politicians (called political parties): the Republicans (who are usually more conservative) and the Democrats (who are usually more liberal), although other people can sometimes be elected too, like people from the Green Party or the Independent Party. The two main parties get support from different people and businesses, who give money to the parties. This means that elections can cost a lot of money. In return, parties will sometimes pass laws that help the people who gave them money. This is a problem in American politics.

Right now, the President is Republican, but the Democrats have control of Congress, which means that neither party has enough votes to decide what direction the country's policies will go.

The USA's large cultural, economic, and military influence has made foreign relations, or relations with other countries, an especially important topic in American politics, and the politics of many other countries.

Land

The United States has grown from 13 states in 1776, to 50 states, 5 territories (Guam, Puerto Rico, America Soma, Northern Mariana Islands, US Virgin Islands), 1 district (District of Columbia) and other lands (Guantanamo Bay, Johnston Atoll, etc.) today. The US states and territories are like what are sometimes called provinces for some countries.

The country grew from east to west. It conquered and bought lands. It also divided some states into two.

The states are also divided into smaller counties. Two states use different words other than "county". Louisiana uses the word "parish". Alaska uses the word "borough".

The United States also consists of several other lands that are not states. Some examples are:

The U.S. military has bases in many countries. The U.S. Naval base at Guantanamo Bay was rented from Cuba, and kept after that country had a Communist revolution.

Geography

The United States is the third biggest country in the world. Its geography varies a lot.

The climate varies along with the geography, from tropical (hot and wet in summer, warm and dry in winter) in Florida to tundra (cold all year) in Alaska. Large parts of the country have warm summers and cold winters. Some parts of the United States, like parts of California, have a Mediterranean climate.

Economy

The United States has a capitalist economy. The country has steady economic growth, low unemployment and inflation, and a large trade deficit (meaning the United States buys more things from other countries than it sells).

The country has rich mineral resources, with many gold, oil, coal and uranium deposits. Farming makes the country among the top producers of, among others, corn (maize), wheat, sugar and tobacco. American produces cars, airplanes and electronics. About 3/4 of Americans work in the service industry.

The top 15 trading partners in terms of total trade are:

Demographics

Most of the people in the United States descend from European immigrants. Many people are descended from Germany, England, Scotland, Ireland, and Italy.

In recent years, many Hispanics have come from Mexico and other parts of Latin America, especially to the U.S. Southwest. Many of these people cross the border illegally. Some Americans are unhappy about that, and are also unhappy about having more use of the Spanish language in the United States (see Languages in the United States). Some people have suggested building a fence on the Mexican border to keep illegal immigrants out, and there are already many border patrols.

Many people in the United States are African-American. Most of them descend from the African slaves that were brought to America.

A third large minority is Asian-American. Many of them are on the West Coast.

The original peoples, called Native American or American Indians and Inuit (Eskimos) are a very small group.

The 2000 Census counted self-reported ancestry. It identified 43 million German-Americans, 30.5 million Irish-Americans, 24.9 million African-Americans, 24.5 million English-Americans, and 18.4 million Mexican-Americans.

Money

The social structure of the United States has a big range, meaning some Americans are much, much richer than others. For example, 51% of all households have access to a computer and 41% had access to the Internet in 2000, a figure which had grown to 75% in 2004. Globally, less than one percent of people own a computer. Furthermore, 67.9% of Americans owned their homes in 2002. The average income for an American was $37,000 a year in 2002.

Religion

The level of Christianity in the US is declining. 86.2% called themselves Christian in 1990 and 76.5% said this in 2001 (ARIS 2001). The religious memberships in 2001 were Protestant 52%, Catholic 24.5%, none 13.2%, 2% Buddhist, Jewish 1.3% and 0.5-0.3% for Muslim, Agnostic, Atheist, Hindu and Unitarian Universalist. There is a large difference between those who declare themselves to be of a religion and those who are members of a church of that religion. Census Bureau figures (PDF file) show that church membership in 2001 was 53% Christian, 2.3% Jewish and 0.1% Muslim, others lower.

Languages

The United States doesn't have an official language, but English is the most used language. Spanish has also become more used and is becoming popular, especially among high school students and business people.

Culture

American popular culture goes out to many places in the world. It has a large influence on most of the world, especially the Western world.

American music is heard all over the world, and American movies and television shows can be seen almost anywhere.

This was very different from when the country was younger.

Now most big American cities have classical and popular music; research centers and museums, dance performances, musicals and plays; outdoor art projects and architecture.

The United States is also a center of higher education. It has more than 1,500 universities, colleges, and similar institutions. Some of them are very prestigious.

Federal holidays (For 2008)

Date Name Remarks
January 1 New Year's Day Celebrates the beginning of the year.
January 21
(3rd Monday in January)		 Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Honors Dr.Martin Luther King Jr, an African-American civil rights leader.
February 18
(3rd Monday in February)		 Washington's Birthday Honors the first American President, George Washington. More often, this holiday is called Presidents' Day and honors all of the American Presidents.
May 26
(Last Monday in May)		 Memorial Day Honors military men and women who died in service, and marks the traditional start of summer.
July 4 Independence Day Celebrates the Declaration of Independence; usually called "The Fourth of July".
September 1
(1st Monday in September)		 Labor Day Celebrates the achievements of workers, and marks the traditional end of summer.
October 12
(2nd Monday in October)		 Columbus Day Honors Christopher Columbus, the man who discovered the Americas for Europe (although Native Americans had been in the Americas for a long time).
November 11 Veterans Day Honors all military men and women. The day usually includes a moment of silence at 11 a.m.
November 27
(4th Thursday in November)		 Thanksgiving Gives thanks for the autumn harvest, and marks the traditional beginning of the "holiday season".
December 25 Christmas For Christians, marks the birth of Jesus according to Christianity. Many people, both Christians and not Christians, celebrate Christmas as a winter holiday of peace, friendship, and gift-giving.

Press freedom

  • Reporters without borders Worldwide Press Freedom Index 2003: Ranks 31 out of 166 countries (2-way tie) (2002 - 17 out of 139 countries)

Related topics

Other websites

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

United States government

Other

Political divisions of the United States
States Alabama • Alaska • Arizona • Arkansas • California • Colorado • Connecticut • Delaware • Florida • Georgia • Hawaii • Idaho • Illinois • Indiana • Iowa • Kansas • Kentucky • Louisiana • Maine • Maryland • Massachusetts • Michigan • Minnesota • Mississippi • Missouri • Montana • Nebraska • Nevada • New Hampshire • New Jersey • New Mexico • New York • North Carolina • North Dakota • Ohio • Oklahoma • Oregon • Pennsylvania • Rhode Island • South Carolina • South Dakota • Tennessee • Texas • Utah • Vermont • Virginia • Washington • West Virginia • Wisconsin • Wyoming
National capital District of Columbia
Island areas American Samoa • Baker Island • Guam • Howland Island • Jarvis Island • Johnston Atoll • Kingman Reef • Midway Atoll • Navassa Island • Northern Mariana Islands • Palmyra Atoll • Puerto Rico • Virgin Islands • Wake Island
Hypothetical states 51st state


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Countries and territories of North America
Independent Antigua and Barbuda · Bahamas · Barbados · Belize · Canada · Costa Rica · Cuba · Dominica · Dominican Republic · El Salvador · Grenada · Guatemala · Haiti · Honduras · Jamaica · Mexico · Nicaragua · Panama · Saint Kitts and Nevis · Saint Lucia · Saint Vincent and the Grenadines · Trinidad and Tobago · United States
Governed by other countries Anguilla · Aruba · Bermuda · British Virgin Islands · Cayman Islands · Greenland · Guadeloupe · Martinique · Montserrat · Navassa Island · Netherlands Antilles · Puerto Rico · Saint-Pierre and Miquelon · Turks and Caicos Islands · U.S. Virgin Islands
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G8 countries
Canada  · France  · Germany  · Japan  · Italy  · United Kingdom  · Russia  · United States
v • d • e
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Members Belgium · Bulgaria · Canada · Czech Republic · Denmark · Estonia · France · Germany · Greece · Hungary · Iceland · Italy · Latvia · Lithuania · Luxembourg · Netherlands · Norway · Poland · Portugal · Romania · Slovakia · Slovenia · Spain · Turkey · United Kingdom · United States
Candidates Albania · Croatia · Georgia · Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) ·  *

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