USA (disambiguation) and America (disambiguation).
Do not be confused with America.
United States of America (fr)
United States of America (en)
(Flag of the United States) (Great Seal of the United States)
Motto:
"In God We Trust (official)
("In God we trust [1]")
"E pluribus unum" (traditional)
(Latin: "From many, one")
federal official language: English American English
facto sole official language in 30 50 states, 18% of the population speaks another language at home, English (10.71%) being the most common, after the Chinese (0.78%), French (0.62%), Tagalog (0.45%), and Hawaiian.
Capital Washington, DC
38 ° 53 'N, 77 ° 02' W
Largest city New York State Health
Federal Republic
-
President - Vice President Joe Biden Barack Obama
Area - Total
- Water (%) Ranked 4th 9,629,048 km2
2.20%
Population - Total (2010)
- Density Ranked 3rd
310 232 863 [2] Hab.
31.15 inhab./km2
Independence - Declared
- Recognized Great Britain
July 4, 1776
September 3, 1783
Demonym American
see Ethnonyms U.S.
GDP (PPP) (2008) $ 14,264 billion [3] (1)
GDP (nominal) (2010) $ 14,510 billion [4] (1)
HDI (2008) 0.951 (high) (12th)
Currency U.S. Dollar (USD)
Timezone UTC -5 to -10
National Anthem The Star-Spangled Banner
Internet TLD.
us code
a telephone
The United States, long shaped the United States of America [5] United States English, United States of America is a constitutional republic federal presidential system in North America.
The United States is a union of 50 states, 48 of which are adjacent to each other and located between the Atlantic and Pacific Ocean from east to west, and bordered by Canada to the north and south by Mexico. The last two states are Alaska, located in western Canada, and Hawaii, an island state located in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. In addition, the country includes fourteen scattered island territories in the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific. The federal capital, Washington, is located in the District of Columbia, federal district outside 50 states.
The United States has in 2008 more than 305 million inhabitants and is the third most populous country in the world behind China and India [6]. The area of the United States is 9,629,048 square kilometers, making it the fourth largest country in the world behind Russia, Canada and China [7]. Immigration is very abundant and the population is among the world's most diverse ethnically and culturally. The national economy is the largest in the world with the highest GDP in the world.
While the Declaration of Independence of the United States was proclaimed by July 4, 1776 the thirteen British colonies in North America, the United States gained independence from the United Kingdom in 1783 following the Revolutionary War, and adopted the Constitution of the United States in 1787 at the Philadelphia Convention. The Bill of Rights (Bill of Rights) is for its ratification by the first Congress of the United States in 1791.
The development of the territory took place mainly in the nineteenth century with the conquest of the West and the Indian wars, but also through bilateral agreements made with other European nations and North America.
In 1865, war Civil ends at the edge of the northern states, protectionist and egalitarian face the South, free and slave-traders. The English-American War of 1898 and the First World War have subsequently confirmed the country's military power. Since the Second World War, the hegemony of the United States is a superpower, especially during the Cold War.
United States are members of the Organization of the North Atlantic Treaty (NATO), the Economic Cooperation Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA ), the Organization of American States (OAS) of ANZUS, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), G8, and permanent members of UN Security.
Contents [hide]
1 Name 2 History
2.1 Period Pre-Columbian (before 1492) colonial
2.2 Period (1492-1775) 2.3
Revolution, independence and new institutions (1775-1800)
2.4 Conquest of the West industrialization and the end of slavery (1800-1917)
2.5 The elevation of the country to superpower status through war (1917-1991)
2.6 The "New World Order" (1991-2010) 3 Policy
4 States
5 Geography
5.1 Characteristics 5.2 General
large natural
5.2.1 Hydrography
5.3 Human Geography
5.3.1 Population Distribution
5.3.2 Towns and urban population
5.3.3 Distribution of foreign policy activities
6
7 8 Economy Forces
8.1 Location 8.2
general economic policy of the federal government
8.3 Key Figures Company
9
9.1 Characteristics 9.2 Protection
General Social Demography
10 11 Science and Culture 11.1
Science and technology Literature and philosophy
11.2 11.3
visual arts and architecture
11.4 11.5 Music and Performing Arts
Kitchen
11.6 11.7 11.8 Sports Religion
11.9 Public holidays Languages
11.10 11.10.1 11.10.2 Status of languages
Louisiana
12 Americans illustrious 13
Symbols U.S.
14 Statistics
15 Codes
16 References 17 See also Bibliography
17.1 17.2 17.3
Related External Links
Legal
In 1507, the cartographer Lorraine Martin Waldseemüller produced a world map showing the southern region of the Western Hemisphere. He then entered the feminized name "America" in honor of the Florentine navigator Amerigo Vespucci, Amerigo is knowing that the Italian equivalent of the name of Germanic origin of Aymeric, southern variant of Henry.
The country's name was suggested by Thomas Paine and adopted first by the Thirteen Colonies of the British Empire in the Declaration of Independence of the United States of America July 4, 1776.
designation in short form - for use in everyday life, teaching and mapping [8] - this country is "United States "(English United States, abbreviated U.S.) and the long form - use in official documents - is" United States of America "(in English United States of America, abridged USA). The long form "United States of America" does not look like the vast majority of long forms that start with "Republic of", "Kingdom of", etc.. Instead, it is close to that of neighboring countries, the United Mexican States. In France and in many other countries, the country is also referred to in short form, in common parlance [9], but also sometimes in official speeches [10], the term informal America [11]. In English, the short form "America" is widely used, including in official discourse [12].
In French, in common parlance, the country is sometimes also referred to as the "U.S.", "USA", "the States" or "States" (the latter in Quebec).
History Main article: History of the United States.
Columbian period (before 1492)
articles: Native Americans in the United States, Colonial History of the United States and the Thirteen Colonies.
The human presence is attested in Alaska to 20,000 BC. AD [13], about 16 000 years BC. BC on the Atlantic coast and around 13 000 years BC. AD on the site Clovis (New Mexico). The first inhabitants of the United States today descend from prehistoric peoples from Asia who crossed the Bering Strait during the last glaciation there are 30,000 or 40,000 years [14]. Several relatively advanced civilizations (Anasazi, Mound Builders of Mississippi civilization) have succeeded in the area and have mysteriously disappeared before the arrival of Europeans.
Colonial Period (1492-1775)
article: European colonization of the Americas and the Thirteen Colonies.
Map of America North
about 1775 New France, a significant portion of U.S. actuels.Christophe Columbus discovered the Americas in 1492 and then explores the current Puerto Rico next year. In the sixteenth century, European powers in search of the Northwest Passage and wealth, then navigate settled along the Atlantic coast. Here is a succession of English colonial, British, French, Dutch and Scandinavian more or less permanent. Institutions the most famous and oldest are those of St. Augustine (Florida, 1565), Jamestown (1607) and Plymouth (founded by the Pilgrims Puritans in 1620). South-west enlarge the Spaniards in New Spain by conducting expeditions from Mexico. North-west, the Russians settled along the Pacific coast. Whites make contact and do business with Aboriginal people. But the Indians do not resist epidemics brought by Europeans (smallpox, measles), acculturation (alcohol, firearms), the massacres and the colonial wars.
During the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries gradually formed the thirteen British colonies on the east coast, the ancestors of the United States (map). Colonization is provided by companies and a system of charters. The French explore the Mississippi Valley and founded Louisiana. North America is rapidly becoming an issue between the colonial powers: England provides little by little his supremacy by winning the Anglo-Dutch Wars and the War of the Conquest (1763) against France, losing his possessions in the east of the Mississippi (map). The stand is mainly by migrants and the British slave trade. Black slaves were employed in the tobacco plantations in the south but also for infrastructure development. By 1775, the thirteen colonies are thriving and have more than two million inhabitants.
Revolution, independence and new institutions (1775-1800)
Main articles: History of the United States from 1776 to 1865 and American Revolution.
The Declaration of Independence., By John Trumbull, 1817-18On the course of the 1770s, American settlers opposed to increasing their metropolis: London denied the Indian lands west of the Appalachian Mountains . The taxes are increased while the American subjects are not represented in the English Parliament. The system of lese exclusive stores on the east coast. New troops are sent to America and a revolutionary climate settled in New England, Philadelphia and Virginia. In 1770, British soldiers fired on protesters (Boston Massacre). In December 1773, the settlers destroyed a cargo of tea (Boston Tea Party): the war broke out the following year.
The insurgents are sending representatives to the Continental Congress that approved the Declaration of Independence of the United States July 4, 1776. This text, written mainly by Thomas Jefferson, proclaimed the principles of liberty, equality and right to happiness. During the war, thousands of loyalists fleeing the country. The U.S. Army, commanded George Washington finally defeat the English with the backing of France: The Treaty of Paris was signed in 1783 and enshrines the sovereignty and the birth of the United States.
Second Continental Congress which ratified the Articles of Confederation in 1781, wrote the U.S. Constitution at the Philadelphia Convention in 1787. This text, which are added ten amendments (Bill of Rights) in 1791, remains today the foundation of American democracy. George Washington was selected as the first U.S. president in 1789. The institutions settle permanently in Washington (DC) in 1800.
Conquest of the West, industrialization and the end of slavery (1800-1917)
article: Gold Rush, Wild West, Civil War and U.S. History from 1865 to 1918.
process of joining the Union of several States
Dred Scott v. Scott Sandford (1857)
Battle of Fredericksburg (1862) American history in the nineteenth century was marked by four major issues: the conquest of the West, slavery in the South, industrialization and immigration.
The American territory is growing steadily westwards through purchases (Louisiana France in 1803, Alaska from Russia in 1867) and conflict. Driven by the doctrine of "Manifest Destiny" and the "Myth of the Frontier," the Americans make war on the Indians and despoil their land. The war against Mexico (1846-1848) and the Treaty of Guadeloupe Hidalgo leads the annexation of Texas and California. The Treaty of Oregon (1846) defines the boundary line between Canada and the United States west of the Rocky Mountains. The Gold Rush from the mid-nineteenth century accelerated white settlement in the West. Finally, building the first transcontinental railroad (1869) facilitates the integration of new territories. The conquest of the West ended with the massacre at Wounded Knee (1890), the annexation of Hawaii (1898) and the entry of Arizona into the Union (1912).
While the slave trade was abolished at the federal level in 1808 and the Northern states abolished slavery between 1777 [15] and 1804, the Southern planters continued to defend the institution. In 1860, Abraham Lincoln, candidate of the antislavery party, wins the presidential election, seven slave states seceded and are then form the Confederate States of America. The Battle of Fort Sumter (April 1861) mark the beginning of the civil war that took 970,000 casualties (3% of the U.S. population), including 620,000 soldiers [16]. After the Union victory in 1865, three new constitutional amendments are voted to abolish slavery, freeing four million slaves [17], give them citizenship and voting rights. But Jim Crow laws introduce racial segregation in the South, even in the years 1950-1960. The Civil War also resulted in strengthening the federal government [18].
Industrialization started from 1850s. It causes dramatic demographic, economic and social considerable. It changes the geography of the country. American cities are multiplying and growing rapidly. Migration is accelerating and diversifying. The Industrial Revolution gave rise to an urban proletariat and accompanies the birth of capitalism. In the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, the second industrial revolution saw the emergence of consumer society and the automobile. The first skyscrapers were built in the inner cities of Chicago and New York.
The United States needs throughout the nineteenth century itself on the international stage. Thus, the United Kingdom is trying vainly to regain its sovereignty in the U.S. during the War of 1812. The country won the English-American War in 1898: Puerto Rico and the Philippines came under control of Washington.
Rising to the rank of superpower country through war (1917-1991)
Main articles: History of the United States from 1918 to 1945, Great Depression, Cold War, History of the United States from 1945 to 1964 , History of the United States from 1964 to 1980 and History of the United States since 1980.
Franklin Delano Roosevelt (1933)
Migrant Mother, photograph by Dorothea Lange (1936)
Ronald Reagan (1981)
Buzz Aldrin on the Moon (1969) is especially the First World War, which will spend U.S. power. In the twentieth century, the United States become the leading economic power, cultural, political and military world. First neutral early in the First World War, the country agrees with the Allies April 2, 1917 and reverses the power relationship. The U.S. Congress refuses to ratify the Treaty of Versailles (1919) and integrate the League of Nations, faithful to the principle of isolationism. The inter-war period is primarily a period of material prosperity and cultural ferment known as the "Roaring Twenties". The women then Indians win the right to vote. This is also the time of Prohibition.
Then the Great Depression of 1929 following the crash on Wall Street causes a rise in unemployment. The Dust Bowl and affecting the south and increasing misery of the peasants. Franklin Delano Roosevelt was elected in 1932 and offers a New Deal ("New Deal") to combat the crisis, laying the foundations of the welfare state. Unemployment does not go away completely as during the Second World War. The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor Dec. 7, 1941 caused the entry into the U.S. war in the Allies against the Axis. The U.S. military plays a major role in the liberation of Western Europe and during the Pacific campaigns. In August 1945, President Harry S. Truman decided to send two atomic bombs to surrender the Japanese Empire. The United States became a superpower along with the USSR. The United Nations Charter signed in June 1945 in San Francisco, laid the foundation of the UN, whose General Assembly seat in New York.
In the years following the conflict, the United States faced in leading capitalist camp against the Soviet Union when the Cold War between two political and economic models. To contain communism, Washington operates in Europe (map Marshall, Berlin, creation of NATO) and Asia (the Korean War, Vietnam War, War in Afghanistan). In the same vein, in 1949, Harry Truman said his desire to help underdeveloped countries improve their standard of living through industrialization, through the provision of technical knowledge of the United States [19]. The country is also launching in the arms race and space (creation of NASA in 1958, first steps on the moon in 1969). In 1962, the Cuban missile crisis has almost been the trigger for the third world war will cause an "embargo", always active, even if relaxed under the presidencies of Clinton and Obama.
The Inside Story of the country is marked by the Afro-American civil rights movement in 1950-1960 led by Martin Luther King, the assassination of President Kennedy in 1963 and the Watergate scandal in 1974. The year 1968 is for the United States on top of a troubled decade (Vietnam, Berkeley, assassinations of Martin Luther King and Robert Kennedy, etc..), The beginning of a period of uncertainty [20] . The new policy of Ronald Reagan (1981-1989) was a success both in the country, with Reaganomics, and abroad, where it promotes relations, particularly with the USSR, and lowers arms. It is generally perceived as the victor of the Cold War.
The "New World Order" (1991-2010)
In 2001, the United States for the first time since 1941, attack on their territory.
Swearing Barack Obama, January 20, 2009, becoming the 44th U.S. President UnisArticles details: Attacks of September 11, 2001, War against terrorism and the subprime crisis.
After the end of the Cold War and the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1989-1991, the United States is the only superpower in the world. The country is committed in diplomatic relations in the Middle East, and participates in the Gulf War (1990-1991). President Bill Clinton (1993-2001) was marked by wars of Yugoslavia by the Monica Lewinsky affair, the explosion of the Internet bubble and continued economic growth. The federal government encourages dissemination to U.S. companies powerful computational techniques that were developed for the first Gulf War (Network-centric warfare), to ensure world domination by the technical knowledge.
George W. Bush (2001-2009) came to power after the elections the most contentious in history the country. On September 11, 2001, the United States are victims of a wave of terrorist attacks that are almost three thousand dead. In response, Washington began a "War against Terrorism in Afghanistan and Iraq (war in Afghanistan and Iraq war). In 2005, the south was hit hard by Katrina, one of the most devastating hurricanes in the history of the United States. From 2007 the country was hit by a financial and economic crisis caused by the subprime crisis and become global. Large companies like Lehman Brothers and General Motors are in bankruptcy.
In 2008, Barack Obama is elected as the first African American president the country, succeeding outgoing President George W. Bush became unpopular [21]. Its policy contrasts with his predecessor, especially on the domestic front, where he succeeded in passing a reform of the health system. At the same time, the emergence of China as potential superpower already appears likely to challenge the monopoly of the term United States [22]. In 2010, while the country remains in economic crisis, the Gulf of Mexico and the southern beaches are again hit with the worst oil spill that the country has known.
Policy
article: Politics of the United States.
The first page of the United States Constitution (1787)
The White House, the executive branch.
The Capitol, the legislative branch.
The Supreme Court, power judiciaire.Les United States is a federal republic presidential bicameral. The form of government is that of representative democracy: the right to vote is granted to U.S. citizens over 18 years and it is not mandatory.
U.S. citizens are governed at three levels: federal capital from Washington, DC, the state level and local level (counties, municipalities). Currency, foreign policy, military and foreign trade within the federal government. The country consists of fifty Federated States that have full sovereignty in many areas: justice, education, transport, etc.. Each of the 50 states has its own flag, its governor, its Congress and its government. The legislation differs from one district to another.
The U.S. Constitution is the oldest modern constitution still in force (1787). Supplemented by the Bill of Rights and numerous amendments, it guarantees individual rights to U.S. citizens. To be adopted, an amendment must receive the approval of three fourths of the states.
The three powers (legislative, executive and judicial) are separate:
The executive power is ensured by the president and vice president. They are all elected for four years by indirect universal suffrage. Each state is represented by his electoral college whose number is roughly proportional to the number of people in the state in question. Since 1951, the President may exercise only two terms. The President is the commander in chief, but can not declare war. He resides in the White House and has a veto on bills. He appoints his cabinet members and heads the U.S. Administration. Barack Obama was elected president of the United States in November 2008 (term began January 20, 2009).
Legislative power is vested in a Congress composed of two chambers, the Senate and House of Representatives who serve on Capitol Hill. The House of Representatives has 435 members, elected in districts (congressional district) for a term of two years. The number of members depends on the demographic weight of countries: the least populated send a representative to Congress, while the California has 53. Each state elects two senators for six years, regardless of its population. The Senate is renewed by thirds every two years.
The Supreme Court is the highest court in the federal judicial system. Composed of nine judges for life chosen by the president with the consent of the Senate, she interprets the laws and checks their constitutionality.
Political life is dominated by two parties: the Republican Party and the Democratic Party. The Republican Party, founded in 1854, is regarded as conservative or right, its symbol is the elephant and the color red. The Democratic Party is described as liberal in English and classified in the center or center-left, its animal is the donkey and the color blue. Among the smaller parties include the Green Party and the Communist Party. The states of Northeast, Great Lakes and the west coast are considered more progressive than those in the South and Rocky Mountains.
Related Articles: U.S. Presidents, Vice-President of the United States, Constitution of the United States, List of governors of the United States and U.S. Presidential Election.
States
article: States United States States United States, in order of entry into the Union, States United States population by States and the United States by area.
ALAKAZARCACOCTDEFLGAHIIDILINIAKSKYLAMEMDMAMIMNMSMOMTNENVNHNJNMNYNCNDOHOKORPARISCSDTNTXUTVTVAWAWVWIWYSAGUPRIMIV
The United States is composed of 50 states and one federal district, the District of Columbia. Forty-eight contiguous states - all states except Alaska and Hawaii - are called contiguous United States or "lower 48" and occupied most of central North America. Alaska is separated from the contiguous U.S. by Canada, and together they form the continental United States. Hawaii, the fiftieth state, is located in the Pacific.
The map shows the cons 50 states, territories and highlights areas of the United States Census. District of Columbia does not appear.
In addition to territories shown on the map, the United States include several other territories. Palmyra Atoll is an unincorporated territory, but it is uninhabited. Minor Outlying Islands United States of uninhabited islands and atolls in the Pacific and the Caribbean Sea. In addition, since 1898, the U.S. Navy has established a major naval base in Guantanamo Bay in Cuba.
Geography Main article: Geography of the United States and Climate in the United States.
Reliefs
Topographic map satellite image mapping
Average annual
Wind
Major cities
densities
Click on a thumbnail to enlarge
Characteristics
Mount McKinley, point culmination of the United States (Alaska)
The Death Valley contains the lowest point of the United States (California) The United States is the fourth largest country (9,631,417 sq km), behind Russia, Canada and China [23]. With 7% of the land the planet, the size of American territory is comparable to the European continent and is 17 times that of metropolitan France. The states of Alaska and Texas are bigger than France. Located in North America, the 48 contiguous states (sometimes called "Mainland" or "continental U.S."), whose shape evokes a pentagon stretch across four time zones. 4500 km separate the Atlantic coast to the east and the Pacific coast to the west [24]. He must travel 2500 km to connect Canada to Mexico. The United States has 12,034 km of land borders [25], 8893 km with Canada (Including 2,477 km with Alaska), 3141 km with 28 km with Mexico and Cuba (naval base at Guantánamo Bay). The total length of the U.S. coast is 19 924 km.
All Mississippi Missouri travels more than 6000 km in the Mainland, the equivalent of being the Amazon in South America. The last two federal states are Hawaii, a volcanic archipelago of the Pacific Northwest and Alaska, western Canada. North-eastern Caribbean island of Puerto Rico is a commonwealth state: it is also the largest and most populous of the U.S. territories.
The country's highest peak, Mount McKinley (6194 meters), located in Alaska. Off Alaska, the main peak is Mount Whitney in California (4421 meters). The lowest altitude of Badwater is the National Park Death Valley in California (- 86 m).
Main peaks of the United States [26]:
Chain Summit State
or massive
Altitude in meters
McKinley (mountain) Range of Alaska Alaska 6194
Whitney (Mount) California Sierra Nevada 4421
Elbert (Mount ) Colorado Rockies 4401
Rainier (Mount) Washington Cascade 4392
St. Elias (Mountain) Alaska St. Elias Mountains 5489 Great
sets Natural
article: National Park in the United States and U.S. National Monument.
Ocean Climate (Oregon)
desert climate (Utah)
Tropical climate (Hawaii)
Climate Polar (Alaska)
Cactus in Saguaro National Park (Arizona) The vastness of the great variety of landforms and climates produce very different landscapes in different regions. The country's large natural roughly follow a meridian organization: to the east, a plain more and wider ranging to Florida bordering the Atlantic Ocean. The northern part (New England) is subject to air masses polar winter. The south is influenced tropical. Towards the inside is lined with hills and foothills of the Appalachian Mountains, which rise to 2300 meters above sea level and are covered with forests. The plains and plateaus of the Centre are all drained by the Mississippi River and Missouri. To the north, the Great Lakes (North America) are an important waterway connected to the St. Lawrence River. The southern regions (Texas, Florida, to Louisiana) undergo the hurricanes in late summer, their climate is subtropical humid except South Florida (Miami area) already tropical. East of the Mountains Rocky stretch the fertile Great Plains and the semi-arid High Plains, from Mexico to Canada. This is where lies the Tornado Alley, an area covering several states or parts of states and where tornadoes occur frequently. The American West is dominated by the Rocky Mountains, the Cascades and Sierra Nevada that frame the valleys (Central Valley of California), trays (Colorado Plateau, Columbia Plateau) and catchment altitude (Great Basin). Rocky Mountain peak at about 4300 meters in the Colorado mountain climates and vegetation is stepped. To the north lies the Yellowstone supervolcano. Basins interiors are marked by aridity (Mojave Desert, Death Valley). The Pacific coast is dominated by mountain ranges covered with forests. The Pacific maritime influence is immediately blocked by the mountains and is limited to a narrow coastal strip. The region is subject to volcanic risk (Mount Saint Helens, Mount Rainier) and seismic (San Andreas Fault). The littoral states of Washington and Oregon are very humid oceanic climate, as California is experiencing a Mediterranean climate.
Alaska is a state dominated by mountains and active volcanoes (Alexander Archipelago, Aleutian Islands): the coastal ocean is influenced while the extreme north is polar climate. Finally, the Hawaiian archipelago consists of a series of hot spots and has a tropical climate.
Most active volcanoes are located to the west, Alaska and the Hawaiian Islands:
Mount Blackburn (4996 m), Alaska
Mount Rainier (4392 m) Mount Shasta Washington
(4322 m), California
Mauna Loa (4171 m), Mount Adams
Hawaii (3743 m), Washington
Mount Hood (3429 m), Oregon
Glacier Peak (3213 m), Washington
Mount Redoubt (3108 m), Alaska
Mount St. Helens (2549 m), Washington Hydrography
Waterfall in Yosemite National Park (California) Major rivers in the United States:
Name Length in km km2 watershed in Missouri
4370 1376 180 Mississippi
3778 2981076
Yukon 3185847600
Rio Grande
3060607965 2348505000 Arkansas Colorado
2317629100
Ohio
2102490601 2044668217 Columbia Snake River
1670 Kuskokwim 279 719
1165120000
Tennessee 1049105870
The Great Lakes are all an area of approximately 250,000 square kilometers, half the size of France.
List Great Lakes, ranked from largest to smallest:
Lake Superior Lake Huron Lake Michigan
Lake Erie Lake Ontario
Other important lakes are: Lake Pontchartrain
Great Salt Lake Lake Champlain
Lake Mead Lake Almanor
Lake Powell Utah Lake Tahoe Lake
Human Geography Population Distribution
The some 310 million Americans [27] are very unevenly distributed in the area (average density: 31 inhabitants per km ²) . Half the population is concentrated in the east of the 100th meridian with the Megalopolis BosWash, along the Great Lakes (Chicago / Detroit / Milwaukee / Cleveland), Appalachians and the Atlantic coast. Beyond the 100th meridian, the low densities for historical reasons (the settlement was made from east to west) and natural (drought). The Pacific coast is more dense with the axis of California (San Francisco / Los Angeles) and Puget Sound (Seattle / Portland).
Americans focus on the coasts, including the Great Lakes. To the west of the 100th meridian to the Pacific coast and Alaska, densities are generally low, except in some remote towns and California. The latter is the most populous state in the United States and continues to attract internal and external migration.
Towns and urban population
article: Cities in the United States, List of most populous cities in the United States and Metropolitan Area United States.
Over three quarters of the population is urban. The United States is in third place worldwide for the urban population in absolute terms [28]. Over 30% of Americans live in a metropolis of more than five million inhabitants [29]. These are recent settlements and structured networks. Their economic impact is considerable for the country. They experience difficulties with immigration, social change and globalization. The megalopolis of
BosWash, a group of urban areas in the north-east, extends 800 miles between Boston and Washington, DC via New York.
List of major cities:
City Population Rank in
limits of the town
density per sq km Area Metropolitan Region
Illustration
1 million rank New York City, New York 10 8,214,426 194.2 25.0 1 North East 2
Los Angeles, California 3 849 378 3 041.2 18.5 2 3
West Chicago, Illinois 2,853,114 11.4 4 922.9 Midwest
3 4 Houston, Texas 2 144 491 1 301.8 5.6 12 South
5 Phoenix, Arizona 1 512 986 1 074.1 4.0 14 6
West Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 1 448 394 4 337.3 6 3 7 North-East
7 San Antonio, Texas 1 296 682 1 084.4 1.9 33 South 8 San Diego
, California 1 256 951 1 456.3 2.9 17 9
West Dallas, Texas 1,232,940 1 339.7 6.3 8 South
10 San Jose, California 953 679 003.1 2 1.7 30 West
distribution activities
The regions most dynamic and most attractions are located in the Sun Belt. The conversion of the North-East of the country allows him to take an important role.
See also: List of cities in the U.S. ~ List of botanical gardens in the United States Environmental Policy ~ U.S. ~ Transportation in the U.S. Foreign Policy
David Cameron and Barack ObamaArticle: Politics United States foreign.
The United States exert economic and political influence on the world. They are a permanent member of UN Security and the City of New York hosts the UN headquarters. Almost all countries have embassies in Washington, DC and several consuls across the country. Similarly, almost all countries hosting an American diplomatic mission. By contrast, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Bhutan, Sudan, and the Republic of China (Taiwan) have no formal diplomatic relations with the United States.
The United States enjoy a special relationship with the United Kingdom and close links with Australia, New Zealand (under the ANZUS), South Korea, Japan, Israel, and members of NATO. They also work closely with their neighbors through the Organization of American States and free trade agreements such as the Trilateral Agreement Free Trade Agreement with Canada and Mexico. In 2005, the U.S. spent $ 27 billion in official development assistance, most around the world. However, as a share of gross national income (GNI), the U.S. contribution represents 0.22% and in the twentieth row of twenty-two donor countries. Non-governmental sources such as private foundations, corporations, and educational and religious institutions provide for a total of 96 billion dollars. The combined total is 123 billion dollars, the largest in the world and seventh in percentage of GNI [30].
Forces
The aircraft carrier USS Ronald ReaganArticle detailed: Military armies of the United States.
The U.S. military influence in the world. The president holds the title of commander in chief of the nation, armed forces and appoints its leaders, the Secretary of Defense and those of the Joint Chiefs of Joint Staffs. The Department of Defense administers the U.S. armed forces, including Army, Navy, Marine Corps and Air Force. The Coast Guard is headed by the Department of Homeland Security in peacetime and the Department of the Navy in wartime. In 2005, the military had 1.38 million personal active duty [31], in addition to hundreds of thousands in the reserve and National Guard for a total of 2.3 million soldiers. The Department of Defense also employs approximately 700,000 civilians, not counting those contractors. Military service is voluntary, though conscription may occur in wartime through the Selective Service System. U.S. forces can be deployed rapidly by the Air Force because of its large fleet of transport planes and refueling aircraft, the United States Navy consists of eleven aircraft carriers, and Marine Expeditionary Units at sea all the world's oceans. Outside the U.S. armed forces are deployed on 770 bases and installations on all continents except Antarctica [32], [33].
The total military expenditures of the United States in 2006, more than 528 billion dollars, accounted for 46% of global official military spending and greater than the sum of fourteen largest military budgets combined. (In terms of purchasing power parity, this corresponds to the next six) per capita expenditures were $ 1 756, approximately ten times the world average [34]. At 4.06% of GDP, military spending in the United States are ranked 27th out of 172 nations [35]. The basic proposal for the military budget for 2009 is $ 515.4 billion representing an increase of 7% over 2008 and nearly 74% more than in 2001 [36]. The estimated cost of the Iraq war for the United States until 2016 is 2.267 trillion dollars [37]. Dated October 17, 2008, engaged in two major military operations, the U.S. has suffered during the Iraq war losses of 4185 soldiers killed and more than 30,000 wounded [38] and 615 killed during the war of Afghanistan since 2001 [39].
Economy Main article: Economy of the United States and list of U.S. companies. Synopsis
Economy U.S. Economic Indicators
GDP $ 14 266 billion [40] (2009)
GDP per capita. (PPP) $ 46,442 (2009)
Unemployment 9.9% [41] (April 2010)
GDP growth - 2.4% [40] (2008-2009)
Inflation (CPI) 2.3% [42] (March 2009 - March 2010)
Public debt 84% of GDP [43] (2010) Poverty
13.2% [44] (2008)
value of the currency exchange rate
(for 1 €) 1.2517 [45] (April 20, 2010)
Exchange Rates (for 1 pound) 1.4379 [45] (April 20, 2010)
Exchange rate (per 1 ¥) .0112 [45] (April 20, 2010)
The U.S. has a mixed economy in which the public sector in 2007 represents 12.4% of GDP [46]. They have since the mid-twentieth century the first world economic power. According to the International Monetary Fund, the United States produces more than 14 500 billion, more than 19% of all the wonders of the world [40]. In 2006, U.S. GDP was slightly lower than the European Union to purchasing power parity [47]. The country ranks eighth in the world for GDP per capita and fourth in purchasing power parity [40]. The unemployment rate is relatively low, usually between 3 and 5% of the workforce. But the economic crisis of 2008 led to a rise in unemployment so that the rate reached 6.5% in November 2008 (according to the ILO) [48] and 9.9% in April 2010 [41]. U.S. GDP grew by 32% between 2000 and 2008 while the federal government budget is spent during the same period of 1798 billion to 2931 billion dollars, an increase of nearly 40% [49].
The most dynamic sectors are chemicals, computer, aerospace, healthcare, biotechnology and defense industries, even if the lead has shrunk since the end of the Second World War. The main point of this post-industrial economy remains the tertiary sector (retail, financial services and banking, insurance, film production, tourism ...), which accounts for 75% of GDP.
United States are the largest importers of goods and second largest exporter behind Germany. Canada, China, Mexico, Japan and Germany are the main trading partners [50]. The U.S. trade balance is in deficit, particularly with China. Electrical equipment is the main export country important to many motor vehicles [51]. The NYSE (New York Stock Exchange) are the first in the world.
Wall Street in New York, a symbolic economy américaineLa U.S. public debt is the highest in the world: in 2005 it represented 23% of the world [52]. The United States ranks 35th out of 120 countries on the Debt to GDP [53].
Several advantages explain the power of the U.S. economy: the U.S. is huge, well endowed in mineral resources (second largest producer of coal, oil, natural gas, gold, copper ...) and agricultural products. It is located between the two great oceans of the planet, the Atlantic Ocean and Pacific Ocean. It is also well controlled by a transmission varied (Great Lakes, railroads, ports, airports) and dense. The population is cosmopolitan and mobile. The mean life is hard, even if social inequalities are important. The dollar and the English language have international influence. The federal government invests a relatively large share of GDP in research and does not hesitate to show protectionist. U.S. multinationals are present on all continents and contribute to the country's economic strength. The U.S. is at the heart of NAFTA, a regional organization that promotes the free movement of goods and capital.
In 2005, the workforce is 155 million employees, 80% work full time [54]. 79% of the U.S. labor force works in services [55]. With about 15.5 million people, health and welfare sectors are occupying most of the jobs [56]. The unionization rate is 12% against 30% in Western Europe [57]. Labour mobility is important, and vacations are shorter than in other industrialized countries. The United States maintains one of the productivities Labour highest in the world.
federal government's economic policy
In early 1990, President Bill Clinton launched a very active policy of economic intelligence, called political advocacy (advocacy policy [58]). The effectiveness of this policy is the ability to obtain, exchange and exploitation of information among a multitude of actors and decision makers, federated by networks of interest and collusion. The perception of the world of these actors is definitely electronic and field of vision is a world under American control. The average for this is the closest possible control of complex information-media because it confers power. The effectiveness of this strategy is largely due to the strong relationship between the public sector, private sector and civil society [59].
information systems relied on by the federal government are constituted by the network-centric systems (Network-Centric), used in Iraq during the first Gulf War, and have been translated into all major policy areas the U.S. economy. The federal government provides support and strategic information for large U.S. companies win export markets [60].
The federal government also has a systematic policy of influence, based on common law and international standardization. The U.S. government seeks to influence global multilateral organizations (OECD, UN, ILO ...), the European institutions and in particular the European Commission, private compounds (International Chamber of Commerce, Business Action for Sustainable Development, International Accounting Standards Board) organizations and environmental protection. The influence is also in business practices and doctrines of development assistance. She finally takes place in the sociocultural sphere, using the technique of social learning by teaching, English language and film [61].
The U.S. government has also established a longstanding policy against highly protectionist government purchases of U.S. government (see section procurement of U.S. protectionism section).
key figures
Dollars américains.Quelques Recent figures:
GDP per capita in PPP in 2004: $ 39 498 [62]
Investment (GFCF, 2004): 19.6% of GDP [62] Research and
Development (% Of GDP in 2003): 2.6% [62]
Inflation rate (2005): 3.4% [62]
Distribution of population (in% in 2004) [62]
Sector Primary: 1.7%
Secondary sector: 20.8%
Tertiary sector: 77.4%
The U.S. economy created 2 million new jobs in 2005
cumulative trade deficit in May 2007: $ 296 billion [ 63]
See also: Free Trade Agreement North American
See the paragraph about the U.S. economy and major cities. Company Characteristics
article: Company U.S..
American Society
Average
(in constant $ per household) 46 326 [64] 2005
0.951 HDI [65] 2008
Gini Coefficient 46.9 12.6% Poverty 2005
to 13.3% [64 2005]
The United States is a wealthy, developed country with strong social inequalities. The HDI is 0.951 in 2005 and ranks the country 12th among the states most of the developed world. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the average gross income was $ 46 326 in 2005 [64]. It is the highest in the country in New Jersey ($ 60,246) and lowest in Mississippi ($ 34,396) [66]. At parity purchasing power, these income levels are comparable to those of other developed countries. In 2006, 10% of richest households concentrated almost 50% of income [67]. The percent received by the richest 23% [68]. This last category has received between 2002 and 2006 three quarters of income growth. The share of Americans living below the poverty line rose slightly during the two terms of George W. Bush.
Welfare
article: Social Protection in the United States.
Social protection in the United States covering 90% of the U.S. population [69]. Since the New Deal and the creation of the welfare state (welfare state), the government is implementing several programs to help disadvantaged people: Medicare, Medicaid, Aid to Families With Dependent Children (AFDC) and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) to housewives, Early Childhood Intervention and SCHIP for children in difficulty, SSI for aged, blind and disabled [70], Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) for the poorest [71], Old- Age, Survivors, Disability and Health Insurance (OASDHI) for unemployed workers and widows, etc..
In 2000, 180 million Americans [72] benefited from the Social Security. The distribution system of social assistance is pluralistic and decentralized: the federal government gives a fixed to the 50 states. Social protection depends on the situation of the individual: health insurance is not mandatory. The federal organization of the United States leads the geographical inequalities with respect to social spending and redistribution. The prevailing philosophy is that social insurance is the best full employment: the various successive governments seek primarily to maintain economic growth and lower unemployment. Contrary to popular opinion received, the plight of the poor can not be indifferent to the U.S. [73]. Poverty is widely supported by Americans through charities (more than 650,000 across the country), religious organizations and philanthropic institutions, the United States is the world's first country to volunteer [74 ]: 93 million Americans [74] the practice to varying degrees. It involves mainly pensioners and women. American volunteerism is particularly developed in the arts and promotes the functioning of many cultural institutions.
In 2005, the pension system procured more than half of their income to two thirds of retired U.S. [75]. The U.S. pension system is complex: Social Security is a federal pension calculated based on years worked, contributions and inflation. In the late 1990s, the federal government spent $ 289 billion for the mandatory pension system [76]. Pensions are paid by large corporations and governments. Finally, the funded pension plans is in retirement savings and pension funds. The poorest pensioners receive federal aid Additional (OASDHI) and care (Medicare).
Demographics Main articles: Demographics of the United States, List of the richest places in the United States and American Society. American Demographics
Population (million inhab.) 303.8 2008
density (inhabitants / km ²) 33.2 2008
Growth rate (%) 6.4 [77] 2000-2006
Life Expectancy
(years) Men: 75.6
Women: 80.8
population: 78.1 2007 Population
65 + 12.4% [77] 2005
Fertility rate 2.04 [62] 2004
rate
birth (for 1000) 14.2 2008
mortality rate (for 1000) 8.34 2008
infant mortality rate (for 1000) 6.63 2004
migration rate (per 1 000 ) 3.41 2004
Median age (years) 36.7 2008
non-Hispanic whites (%) 65.6 [77] 2008
Black (%) 12.8 [77] 2008
Asian (%) 4.5 [77 ] 2008
Hispanic (%) 15.4 [77] 2008
With over 300 million since 2006, the population of the United States represents about 4.5% of world population. According to the Census Bureau, the annual population growth is 0.89% [55]. Its fertility rate is 2.05 children per woman [55]. The number of illegal immigrants is estimated at 12 million, or 4% of the total population [78]. In 2006, 1.27 million immigrants received legal residence card. Mexico is their first country of origin after two decades since 1998, China, India and the Philippines [79].
In 2009, the five most populous states were California (about 37 million inhabitants), Texas (about 25 million), New York (about 19.5 million), Florida (about 18.5 million) and Illinois (13 million) [80]. Seven States had a population of less than 1 million inhabitants in descending order, Montana, Delaware, South Dakota, Alaska, North Dakota, Vermont and Wyoming, which is the least populated state with less than 550 000 inhabitants [80]. Finally, the census of 2000 shows that the ten most populous states contain 54% of the population, while 3% of the population lives within ten smallest states. In 2000, the South (100.2 million, or 36% of the population) and West (63.2 million, or 22% of the population) had over half the total population . They are now more populated than the Northeast (53.6 million, or 19% of the population), the historic settlement and the industrial revolution. Since the 1950s, there was a shift in the center of gravity of the country since the Northeast (which housed 26% of the population in 1950) to the southwest. These are indeed the western states and South have the highest population growth. Thus, between 1980 and 1990, 54.3% of the national population growth has made to benefit the three states of California, Florida and Texas. This trend continued between 1990 and 2000, the rate of growth in the West who was 19.7% and 17.3% of South while it was 5.5% in the North-East Texas is now more populous than New York. Between 1990 and 2000, for the first time, all states have seen their population increase, most notably Nevada. As during the previous decade (+ 42%), he again recorded the growth rate higher (+66%). Arizona, Colorado and Utah show growth reaching over 30%.
Age Structure (2010 estimate [25]):
0-14 years: 20.2% (men: 31.6 million women: 30.3 million);
15-64 years: 67% (men: 102.6 million, women: 103.1 million);
+ 65 years: 12.8% (men: 16.9 million women : 22.5 million).
Demography of the United States differs in some respects from that of other industrialized and developed countries:
They are the first country in the world of immigration: in 1991, they hosted more than 1.8 million immigrants and in 2005, they officially have 36 million people born abroad, or 12.4% of the population.
The birth rate is stronger and more dynamic than in other rich countries.
They are in third place most populous country after China and India.
About a third of people now claim ancestral minority.
There are about fifty cities of over one million inhabitants.
eleven or twelve million illegal immigrants would work in the United States, mainly from Latin America.
Science and Culture
article: American Culture.
La Crosse in Hudson, OhioOn the two types of culture in the United States: the high culture and popular culture. The first is little known, the second in the world shines through the film, music, internet.
American culture has a basic Anglo-Saxon, reflecting the historical origins of the country. English is the language most spoken. However, the contributions of other cultures help make the U.S. a melting pot of cultures: the Native American heritage
reads some words and names.
Hispanic influence is strong in California, New Mexico and Texas and several other major cities (New York, Miami, Florida, Hartford, Connecticut).
French influence, but mostly Acadian, is strong in Louisiana.
European immigrants have also marked the country's culture.
Main articles: Inventions American Universities in the United States, List of universities in the United States, Libraries in the United States, Educational System of the United States, American Cinema and American Society. Science and technology
MIT is a research site américaineDepuis the late nineteenth century, the United States is the world leaders in scientific research and technological innovations. In 1876, Alexander Graham Bell filed a patent for the invention of the telephone. The laboratory of Thomas Edison developed the phonograph, the incandescent lamp and one of the first cameras. In the early twentieth century, companies of Ransom E. Olds and Henry Ford are experimenting with new ways to produce automobiles. In 1903, the Wright brothers to carry one of the first flights. The Nazis came to power in early 1930 forced many European scientists to emigrate to the United States, such as Albert Einstein and Enrico Fermi. During WWII, the Manhattan Project brought the world into the atomic age. The space race during the Cold War has produced important advances in armaments and aerospace industries. This is the U.S. that were born the ARPANET and the Internet. Computer systems for network-centric warfare developed during the first Gulf War were broadcast in most U.S. strategic enterprises, and ensure dominance by technological knowledge. Today, scientific research and technology remains at the forefront especially in the field of GMOs, through substantial investment and renowned universities. A majority of Americans now have access to the internet, and 99% are owners of a television (there are now more TVs than residents in an average household, not to mention the jobs that are becoming widespread in public places such as public transport, elevators or the halls of airports [81]). Literature and philosophy
article: American Literature and Theatre in the United States.
American writer Edgar Allan Poe (1809-1849) In the eighteenth century and early nineteenth-century American literature is influenced by the works and European authors [ref. necessary]. Towards the middle of the nineteenth century appears a strictly American literature with authors such as Nathaniel Hawthorne, Edgar Allan Poe and Henry David Thoreau. The novelist Mark Twain and poet Walt Whitman are the major literary figures of the United States in the second half of the nineteenth century. Emily Dickinson, who was not famous during his lifetime, was later recognized as one of the essential American poets.
Eleven Americans were awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in the Twentieth Century, Toni Morrison is the last in 1993. Ernest Hemingway, winner of 1954, and John Steinbeck, winner of 1962, are major writers of the twentieth century. Among the most important novels include The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain (1885), The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald (1925), The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck (1939).
The thriller is one of the most popular literary genres.
The Transcendentalists led by Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau are the source of the first American philosophical movement in the nineteenth century. After the Civil War, Charles Sanders Peirce and William James and John Dewey developed the movement of pragmatism. In the twentieth century, Willard Van Orman Quine and Richard Rorty are representatives of analytic philosophy.
visual arts and
article: Arts in the United States.
the mid-nineteenth century, the Hudson River School is an artistic movement, founded by a group of painters influenced by romanticism. Their paintings depict the American landscape. The exhibition of the Armory Show in 1913 in New York is considered the starting point of modern art in the United States. Georgia O'Keeffe, Marsden Hartley and other artists experimenting with new styles and implement a unique sensibility. After 1945, Jackson Pollock and Willem de Kooning give rise to abstract expressionism, Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein inventing pop art. The art of photography develops so early in the U.S., from the nineteenth century, with photographers like Alfred Stieglitz, Edward Steichen, Ansel Adams and many others. In the field of comics, the comic and the comic strip are two genres born in the U.S. press. Superheroes like Superman (1938), Batman (1939) or Spider-Man (1962), have become icons and symbols of America.
Architecture
article: Architecture in the United States.
Empire State Building and Chrysler Building, New YorkL'architecture United States is diverse by region and was built with external inputs, which were not only English. Native American and colonial architecture has left few traces. With the birth of the United States, public buildings are influenced by ancient Greek and Latin, reflecting Republican ideals. In the nineteenth century many successive styles such as Greek Revival, Gothic Revival, City Beautiful, eclectic, Beaux-Arts style Victorian that relate to European traditions. The truly emancipated American architecture in the late nineteenth century with the creation of a new type of building: the skyscraper. Between the two world wars, the Empire State Building and Chrysler Building are famous examples of Art Deco style. The Prairie School inaugurates the period of organic architecture in the United States. Louis Sullivan and Frank Lloyd Wright are considered its main representatives. The UN headquarters in New York is the most remarkable illustration of the international style after 1945. In the 1960s, major works of postmodernism is the Lincoln Center and the Metropolitan Opera. The years 1970-1980 were marked by the building of museums with bold shapes (Guggenheim Museum, Walker Art Center, Getty Center) and architects Pei and Richard Meier.
Music and Performing Arts
article: Music of the United States.
Broadway in New York is one of the top-performing locations in the U.S. UnisPhineas Taylor Barnum is one of the first proponents American theater, which began in the theater district in Manhattan in 1841. Edward Harrigan and Tony Hart in the 1870 combine to produce a series of musicals in New York. In the early twentieth century, Broadway became the center of its kind in the United States. The songs and melodies of Irving Berlin, Cole Porter and Stephen Sondheim become classics. In 1936, playwright Eugene O'Neill won the Nobel Prize for Literature, the Pulitzer Prize in Theatre honors Tennessee Williams, Edward Albee and August Wilson.
In music, Charles Ives (1874-1954) is considered one of the first great American composers, in the 1910s. Henry Cowell and John Cage after he tried to give an American approach to classical composition. Aaron Copland and George Gershwin developed a peculiarly American synthesis of popular and classical music.
Regarding the popular music of the twentieth century, the United States is the birthplace of gospel, jazz, blues, rhythm and blues, rock 'n' roll, soul, house, the disco, funk, jazz-rock and rap.
Isadora Duncan and Martha Graham were central figures in the creation of modern dance, George Balanchine and Jerome Robbins are the big names of ballet.
Kitchen
Main article : Cuisine of the United States. A dessert
U.S.: Apple Piela the kitchen is the image of the country's population, that is to say, diverse and mixed. However, the main contributions are German, Dutch and Irish influences persist to this day. Indian cuisine also has many: the traditional recipes of the Indians of Alabama is preserved and protected as a cultural heritage [82].
There are also many dishes and regional cuisines: Pennsylvania Amish cooking, Cajun cooking of Louisiana, country kitchen of the Old South (including the kitchen Virginia), or California New England. This is the U.S. that are born fast food (fast food) and products of mass consumption, which are distributed worldwide (Coca-Cola, etc.)..
Religion
article: Religion in the United States.
Since the late eighteenth century, religion was officially separated from the State and this principle is guaranteed by the Constitution (Article VI and First Amendment). In the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, he never refers to God or to Providence [83]. However, he finds himself on the U.S. currency "In God We Trust" (meaning "In God we trust ") Is the national motto since 1956 and was declared legally compatible with the constitution [84]. Nevertheless, the federal government does not subsidize any religious school in the name of religious freedom [85]. Since 1962, prayer in schools is prohibited by Engel cons Vitale [83]. Finally, we must not forget that the First Amendment guarantees non-interference of the state religion and freedom of worship.
American society places a strong emphasis on religion and spirituality: for example, can be found in each hotel room a Bible in the streets with flags and other stickers proclaiming sovereignty and mercy of Jesus, and the American president does not hesitate to mention God in his speeches. It speaks often of "civil religion." The great diversity of churches and the dynamism they bring are largely explained by the country's history. Even today, the various churches are involved in social and political life of the nation. Atheism tends to progress in the U.S. [86]: according to a Pew Forum poll of August 2007, agnostic Americans make up 21% of the population or 63 million people [87]. According to a survey in April 2009, the number Americans without religion would amount to 15% [86]. American Atheists organized into associations including the secular Coalition for America is the most powerful. In universities, the Student Alliance Lay has some 146 offices on campuses across the country [86]. However, atheists are the group that U.S. citizens do not trust the most, even before the Muslims and homosexuals, social reaction to a nation still deeply rooted in history and religious identity, where the overwhelming majority of Americans are Protestant denominations legacy of early British settlers. Component Christian sees all the more strengthened in the United States of sustained immigration from Hispanic countries warn of whose populations are deeply Catholic and restoring force in American Catholicism in states such as California, Arizona, Texas and Florida.
Sport
article: Sports in the United States.
The Cowboys Stadium in Texas contains the largest giant screen mondeDepuis the late nineteenth century, baseball is considered the national sport of the United States. Basketball, ice hockey and American football are the three major disciplines in the country, whose games are watched by thousands of spectators. Boxing and horse racing are the most watched individual sports, even if they face competition from golf and auto racing (NASCAR). Football called soccer in the United States is widely practiced by young and amateur teams. Tennis and other outdoor sports are also popular.
While many sports have been imported from Europe, American born basketball: It was invented by Canadian James Naismith in Springfield in 1891. As for the stock, it derives from pre-colonial Native American practices. The surf was in Hawaii from the fifteenth century and was revived today by Duke Kahanamoku (1890-1968). Skateboarding and snowboarding were invented in the United States in the twentieth century.
Eight Olympic Games took place on American soil, four Summer (St Louis, 1904, Los Angeles, 1932, Los Angeles, 1984 Atlanta, 1996), four winter (Lake Placid, 1932 Squaw Valley 1960, Lake Placid, 1980, Salt Lake City, 2002). U.S. athletes won a total of 2,191 medals since the inception of the Summer Olympics, more than any other country [88]. The country ranks second behind Norway in the Winter Olympics, with 216 medals [89]. Several American athletes have become famous throughout the world include, among others, the baseball player Babe Ruth, boxer Muhammad Ali, John McEnroe, tennis player, athlete Carl Lewis, the basketball player Michael Jordan, golfer Tiger Woods or Michael Phelps the swimmer.
Among the most important sports events, there is the Super Bowl (American football final), the World Series (baseball final), the Indianapolis 500 (race car in the world famous), the U.S. Open tennis or the New York marathon.
Holidays and Celebrations Holidays and Celebrations
Date French Name American Name Meaning
January 1 New Year's Day New Year's Day New Year
Third Monday in January Martin Luther King Day Martin Luther King Day Martin Luther King is born, pastor Afro-American activist for black civil rights.
Day Third Monday in February of George Washington. Washington's Birthday (commonly, President's Day). Birth of George Washington, first president of the United States (22 February), and Abraham Lincoln (February 12)
Last Monday in May Memorial Day. Memorial Day Memorial Veterans
July 4 Independence Day. Independence Day Commemoration of the Declaration of Independence 1776.
First Monday in September Labor Day. Labor Day Celebration of the contribution of workers in the country, the first parade in 1882
Second Monday in October Columbus Day. Columbus Day festival celebrated in honor of Christopher Columbus
November 11 Veterans Day. Veterans Day Commemoration of the end of the First World War.
Fourth Thursday in November Thanksgiving Day. Thanksgiving thanks to God for the safe arrival in America of the ship Mayflower
Christmas December 25 Christmas Day. Nativity
Some days are holidays in one state but not in the other: in California, for example, the Cesar Chavez Day (March 31) or the Native American Day (4th Monday in September), public schools may be closed.
Languages Main article: Languages of the United States.
Languages (2005) [90]
English English
216.2 million, incl. 32.2 million Chinese Creole
2.3 million French, incl. Creole 1.9 million
Tagalog Vietnamese
1.4 million 1.1 million 1.1 million German
The role of language in 2008, no law had been passed to clarify the official language at the federal . However, according to the U.S. agency Français, 30 federal states [91] such laws were voted in favor of English as sole official language. In addition, the State of Hawaii is officially bilingual in English and Hawaiian. The territory of Puerto Rico also has two official languages, English and English. The twenty-first century, the two main federal political parties do not seem inclined to pass legislation at the federal level because it poses the problem from becoming more important Hispanics in some states. Debate English as the official language was considered by these parties as a formal dispute between the English-speaking voters and voters from recent immigration.
May 18, 2006, the Senate passed a bill proposed by Republican James Inhofe describing English as "common and unifying language" of United States [91]. The acquisition of U.S. citizenship or permanent residence card would, under this proposed law, subject to good knowledge of English. To enter into force, it must also be passed in the House of Representatives, but could face a veto by the President.
Louisiana
1968: The Council for the Development of French in Louisiana (CODOFIL), state agency responsible for promoting French in Louisiana is created at the initiative of James Domengeaux, representative (MP) and French-speaking lawyer. Subsequently, the French gained a special status in the state (however, Louisiana has not been declared officially bilingual). Laws of 1968 in favor of the French Renaissance were voted unanimously by the House of Representatives and the Senate from Louisiana.
1971: Edwin Edwards is the first French governor of Louisiana in the twentieth century.
illustrious Americans
View: List of U.S. personalities
Businessmen
American Artists Authors, American Economists
American Historians American
American Military Engineers American
Politicians
American Scientific American Religious
American Sports American
Lists:
List of U.S. scientists alphabetically
List of Presidents of the United States List of American writers
chronological list of American writers
alphabetically
Symbols U.S.
Flag of the United States
Great Seal of the United States Novus Ordo Seclorum
, Great Seal of the United States
Roundel of the Air Force (USAF) [92]
Statue of Liberty Uncle Sam
Bald
Columbia
Statistics
Military expenditures: 688 billion (budget for 2010 [93])
Telephone lines: 150 million (in 2008) [25]
Cell phones: 270 million (in 2008) [25]
Radio Stations 575 million (in 1997)
Televisions: 219 million (in 1997)
Computer: 659 per 1 000 inhabitants
Users Internet: 231 million (in 2008) [25]. 15th worldwide in the proportion of population with access to broadband with 81.17 million subscribers (June 2009) [94].
Number of ISPs: 7800 (2000)
Highways: 6,465,799 km (4,209,835 tarred) (2007) [25]
Railroads: 226,427 km (2007) [25]
Waterways: 41,009 km (2008) [25]
Number of airports: 15,095 (including 5,174 with paved runways) (2009) [25]
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