The United States

The the United States of America are with Presidential regime, and a Federal state of North America made up of fifty States, of which forty-eight adjacent the ones with the others and are located between the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean, of in west, then is bordered in north by the Canada and in the south by the Mexico. The Alaska is located at the west of Canada, whereas Hawaii is an Island state located in the middle of the Pacific Ocean at approximately: 3900 km in the south-west of the California. Moreover, the country is composed of fourteen insular territories disseminated in the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific, as well as the permanent military bases located in various countries at the four corners of planet. Washington, D.C (or District off Columbia ) is the federal capital; the territory is wedged between the States of the Maryland and the Virginia on the river Potomac.

The United States counts more than 300 number, inhabitant million exceeded the October 17th 2006, and constitutes the third country more populated world behind the China and the India, as well as the fourth larger national territory. Immigration is also very abundant, and the population counts among the most diversified in the World on the ethnic level. The nation's economy is as for it most important with the the highest Gross domestic product of planet.

Whereas the Déclaration of independence of the United States of America is proclaimed on July 4th, 1776 by the Thirteen British colonies in North America, the United States obtained their independence of the the United Kingdom in 1783 following the war of American independence, then adopted the Constitution of the United States of America in 1787 at the time of the Convention of Philadelphia. The Déclaration of the rights ('' United States Bill off Rights '') as for it is ratified by the first American Congrès in 1791.

The development of the territory was carried out mainly at the 19th century with the Conquête of the West and the Indian Guerres, but also thanks to bilateral agreements carried out with other European and North-American nations.

Whereas the American Civil War of the United States put an end to slavery in 1865, the Guerre Spanish-American of 1898 and the First World War as for them confirmed the military power of the country. Since the Second world war, the country in was illustrated more like a super power, in particular at the time of the Cold war.

To date, the United States is members of NATO, of APEC, ALENA, OAS, ANZUS, OECD, the G8, and permanent members of the Safety advice of the United Nations.

Denomination

Designation in short form of this country is the United States (in English United States , shortened in US ) and the long form is the United States of America (in English United States off America , shortened in the USA ). This denomination was suggested by Thomas Paine and was adopted at the time of the declaration of independence, the July 4th 1776.

History

Period précolombienne (before 1492)

See also: Amerindian with the United States, Colonial history of the United States, Thirteen colonies

The human presence is attested in Alaska towards {{formatnum: 20000}} front years J. - C., towards {{formatnum: 16000}} front years J. - C. on the Atlantic coast and towards {{formatnum: 13000}} front years J. - C. on the Site Clovis (New Mexico). The first inhabitants of the current United States descend from the prehistoric people come from Asia which crossed the Bering Strait during the last glaciation there are 30 or: 40000 years. Several Civilization S relatively advanced (Anasazi S, Mound Builders, Civilization mississippienne) followed one another on the territory and disappeared mysteriously before the arrival from Europeans.

Colonial period (1492-1775)

Christophe Colomb discovers the American continent in 1492 then explores current the Puerto Rico the following year. At the 16th century, the European powers with the research of the Passage of the North-West and richnesses, sail then settle along the Atlantic littoral. Here follow one another of the Colonie S Spanish, English, French, Dutch and Scandinavian more or less permanent. The most famous establishments and oldest are those of St Augustine (Florida, 1565), Jamestown (1607) and Plymouth (founded by the Pères pilgrims Puritain S in 1620). In south-west, the Spaniards increase the News-Spain by carrying out forwardings since the Mexico. In the North-West, the Russian S settle along the coast Pacifique. The White come into contact and make trade with the people autochtones. But the Amerindian S do not resist the epidemics introduced by Europeans (Variole, Rougeole), with the Acculturation (alcohol, firearms), with the massacres and the colonial wars.

During XVIIe and XVIIIe centuries are gradually formed the Thirteen colonies British of the Eastern coast, ancestors of the United States of America ( chart ). Colonization is ensured by companies and a system of Charte S. the French explore the valley of the the Mississippi and found the Louisiana. North America quickly becomes a stake between the colonial powers: England ensures little by little its supremacy by gaining the Anglo-Dutch Guerres then the War of conquest (1763) against France, which loses its possessions of the east of the Mississippi ( chart ). The settlement is done primarily by British migrants and by the négrière treats. The Esclave S blacks are employed in the Plantation S of Tabac of the south but also for the development of the infrastructures. Towards 1775, the thirteen colonies are prosperous and counts more than two million inhabitants.

Revolution, independence and new institutions (1775-1800)

See also: History of the United States of 1776 to 1865, American Revolution

In the current of the Years 1770, the American colonists oppose more and more their Métropole: London refuses to them the Indian grounds located at the west of the mountains the Appalachian Mountains. The taxes and the taxes are increased whereas the American subjects are not represented with the English Parlement. The system of the Exclusif injures the merchants of the east coast. New troops are sent in America and a revolutionary climate settles in New England, with Philadelphia and in Virginia. In 1770, the British soldiers shoot at the demonstrators (Massacre of Boston). In 1774, the colonists destroy a cargo of the (Boston Tea Party): the war bursts the following year.

The Insurgents send representatives to the continental Congrès who approve the declaration of independence of the United States on July 4th, 1776. This text, primarily written by Thomas Jefferson, proclaims the principles of Liberté, equality and right to the Bonheur. During the war, several thousands of Loyaliste S flee the country. The American Armed , ordered by George Washington, ends up overcoming the English with the reinforcement of France: the treated of Paris is signed in 1783 and devotes the Souveraineté and the birth of the United States.

The Second continental Congress which ratified the Articles of the Confederation in 1781, writes the American Constitution with the Convention of Philadelphia in 1787. This text, to which ten amendments (Déclaration of the Rights) in are added 1791, remains today still the base of the American Démocratie. George Washington is selected like first US president in 1789. The institutions definitively settle with Washington D.C in 1800.

XIXe century

The American history at the 19th century is marked by four major problems: the Conquest of the West, the Slavery in the South, the Industrialization and the Immigration.

The American territory increases gradually towards the west by purchases (Louisiana in 1803, Alaska in 1867) and conflicts. Pushed by the doctrines of the “Intended proclamation” and by the “Myth of the Border”, the Americans make the war with the Amerindians and despoil their grounds. The war against Mexico (1846 - 1848) and the Traité of Guadeloupe Hidalgo involve the annexation of the Texas then of the California. The Traité of Oregon (1846) defines the layout of the border between the United States and Canada in the west of the Rocky Mountains. The Gold rush starting from the middle of the XIXe century accelerates the white colonization of the Western. Lastly, the construction of the First transcontinental railroad (1869) facilitates the integration of the new territories. The conquest of the West is completed with the Massacre of Wounded Knee (1890), the annexation of Hawaii (1898) and the entry of the Arizona in the Union (1912).

Whereas the draft of the Blacks is removed at the federal level in 1808 and that the States of North abolished slavery between 1777 and 1804, the grower S of the South continued to defend this institution. In 1860, Abraham Lincoln, candidate of the party abolitionist, gains the presidential election: seven Slave states make secession then and form the States confederated of America. The Battle of strong Sumter (April 1861) mark the beginning of the civil war which made: 970000 victims (3% of the American population), of which: 620000 soldiers. After the victory of the Union in 1865, three new amendments with the constitution are voted to abolish slavery, to release the four million slaves, to give them the citizenship and the Right to vote. But the Lois Jim Crow introduce the Racial segregation into the South, until in the years 1950-1960. The American Civil War results also in to reinforce the federal capacity.

The industrialization begins starting from the Années 1850. It involves upheavals demographic, economic and social considerable. It modifies the geography of the country. The American Villes multiply and grow quickly. The Immigration accelerates and diversifies. The Industrial revolution gives rise to a urban Prolétariat and accompanies the birth by a Wild capitalism. At the end of XIXe and the beginning of the XXe century, the second industrial revolution sees the appearance of the Consumer society and the Automobile. The first Gratte-ciel are built in the downtown area of New York and Chicago.

The United States must throughout the XIXe century affirm itself on the international scene. Thus, the the United Kingdom vainly tries to take again its sovereignty on the American territory at the time of the Guerre of 1812. The country gains the Guerre Spanish-American in 1898: Puerto Rico and the Filipino pass under control of Washington. But it is especially the First World War which will devote the American power.

XXe century

At the 20th century, the United States becomes the first economic power, cultural, political and soldier of the world. Initially neutral at the beginning of the First World War, the country engages at the sides of the Alliés on April 2nd, 1917 and reverses the power struggle. The American Congrès refuses to ratify the Traité of Versailles (1919) and to integrate the Société of the Nations, faithful to the principle of the Isolationnisme. The Entre-deux-guerres is initially a material boom and cultural effervescence called the “Mad years”. The women then the Amerindians obtain the right to vote. It is also the time of the Prohibition.

Then the Grande Depression of 1929 which follows the crash of Wall Street causes a rise of the Chômage. The Dust Bowl affects the south of the country and increases the misery of the peasants. Franklin Delano Roosevelt is elected in 1932 and proposes a New Deal (“new gives”) to fight the crisis, by posing the bases of the État-providence. Unemployment reabsorbs completely only during the Second world war. The attacks Japanese on Pearl Harbor on December 7th, 1941 causes the entry in war of the United States in the camp of Allied the against the Axe. The American army plays a great part in the release of Western Europe. In August 1945, the president Harry Truman decides to send two atomic bombs to make fold the Japanese Empire. The United States becomes a Superpuissance at the sides of the the USSR. The Charter of the United Nations signed in June 1945 with San Francisco, poses the bases of the UNO, of which the general meeting seat with New York.

In the years which follow the conflict, the United States is posed as a leader of the Western camp vis-a-vis in the Soviet Union: the Cold war opposes two political and economic models then. In order to dam up the Communism, Washington intervenes in Europe (Marshall plan, Berlin) and in Asia (Guerre of Korea, Guerre of Vietnam, first war of Afghanistan). The country also launches out in the race to the nuclear armaments and the space (creation of NASA in 1958, First steps on the moon in 1969). The interior history of the country is marked by the Mouvement Afro-American of the civic rights in the years 1950-1960 carried out by Martin Luther King, the assassination of the president Kennedy in 1963 and the Scandale of Watergate in 1974.

Since the end of the Cold war and the dismantling of the Soviet Union in 1989-1991, the United States is today only the Superpuissance in the World. The country engages in the diplomatic relations with the the Middle East, and takes part in the Guerre of the Gulf (1990-1991). The September 11th 2001, the United States are terrorist victims of a wave Attentat S which make several thousands of deaths. Washington carries out since a Guerre against terrorism to the Middle East, of which the war of Afghanistan and the Guerre in Iraq.

Policy

See also: Political of the United States

The country consists of fifty State S federate which has full a Souveraineté in several fields: it is about a federation. The United States is a presidential République federal Bicamériste. The three capacities (legislature, executive and legal) are separate.

The president and the vice-president are elected for four years together, by the indirect vote for all. Each State is represented by its college of Great Electors of which the number is roughly proportional to the number of inhabitants of the State in question. Since 1951, the president can exercise only two mandates. The political scene is largely dominated by two parties: the Republican party and the Democratic party.

George W. Bush is elected president of the United States in November 2000 (its mandate begins the January 20th 2001). He is re-elected in 2004.

The Supreme court is more the high authority of the federal legal system.

See also:

*
*
*
*

States

See also: States of the United States of America, States of the United States, by order of entry in the Union

The United States of America are composed of 50 States and a federal District, the District of Columbia. The forty-eight contiguous states - all states except the Alaska and Hawaii - are also called the contiguous United States or “lower 48” and occupy the major part of the center of North America. Alaska is separated from the contiguous United States by Canada; together, they form the continental United States. Hawaii, the fiftieth state, is located in the Pacific.

The chart on the line shows the 50 States, the territories and emphasizes the areas of census of the United States. The District of Columbia does not appear.

In addition to the territories mentioned on the chart, the United States includes/understands also several other territories. The Atoll of Palmyra is a not-built-in territory; but it is uninhabited. The minor islands far away from the United States are uninhabited islands and Atoll S of the Pacific and Caribbean Sea. Moreover, since 1898, US Navy established important a naval Base in the bay of Guantánamo in Cuba.

Geography

Cut and situation

The United States is the fourth vastest country behind the Russia, the Canada and the Popular republic of China. With 7% of the emerged grounds of planet, the size of the American territory is comparable with that of the continent of Europe and represents 17 times that of the metropolitan France. The States of the Alaska and the Texas are larger than France. Located in North America, the 48 States of only one holding (called sometimes “ the continental Mainland ” or “United States”), whose form evokes a pentagon are stretched on four time zones. 4500 km separate the Atlantic coast in the east and the peaceful coast in the west. It is necessary to traverse 2500 km to connect Canada to Mexico. The unit Missouri - the Mississippi traverses more: 6000 km in the Mainland , the equivalent of the course of the the Amazon in South America. The last two federate States are Hawaii, a ic Archipel Volcan of the northern Pacific Ocean, and Alaska, in the west of Canada. In the North-East of the the Caribbean, the island of Puerto Rico is an associated free State: it is also about largest and of more populated American territories.

Land borders

: 12034 km of borders:

: 8893 km with the Canada (of which: 2477 km with the Alaska)
: 3141 km with the Mexico
28 km with Cuba (naval Guantanamo bases)

Physical geography

Some reference marks:

Surface: : 9631417 km ² (4th rank behind Russia, Canada and China)
Littoral: : 19924 km
extreme Altitudes: - 86 with +: 6194 meters

Not low: Badwater in the Valley of Dead the in California (- 86 meters)
Culminating point: Mount McKinley in Alaska (: 6194 meters)

Principal river: the Missouri - the Mississippi which runs on more: 6000 km
the most populated City: New York (19 million inhabitants in the agglomeration)

Relief

The relief opposes several units;

The relief of the United States has a meridian organization.

The West is dominated by the Rocheuses, the Cascades and the Sierra Nevada with approximately: 4500 meters on average which enclose plates and basins of the Colorado. The immense plains and plates of the Center are drained by the river whole of the the Mississippi and the Missouri. The grounds are excellent there. The East is dominated by old mountains, the the Appalachian Mountains, which culminate with: 2300 meters of altitude and are separated from the Ocean by narrow littoral plains.

Principal tops of the United States:

Volcanos

The majority of the active volcanos are at the west, in Alaska and on the archipelago of Hawaii:

Climates

All the climates are represented in the United States, of coldest (polar Climat in Alaska) with hottest (Vallée of Dead the), of wettest (the North-West, state of Washington) with driest (arid climate and deserts of the Western American). The variety of the climates and the reliefs produces a great diversity of landscapes and natural areas.

Rivers and rivers

the Missouri-Mississippi: : 6270 km

Principal rivers of the United States:

Lakes

The Big lakes represent a surface of approximately together: 250000 km ², are half of the surface of the Metropolitan France.

List of the Big lakes, classified larger with smallest:

the other important lakes are:

Human geography

Pattern of the settlement

The Americans concentrate on the littorals, including those of the Big lakes. In the west of the Meridian 100e to the littoral of the Pacific and in Alaska, the densities are overall low, except downtown some isolated and California. The latter is the State more populated of the United States and continuous to attract the internal and external migratory flux.

Cities and urban population

More of the three quarters of the population is urban. The Mégalopole of the BosWash extends to the North-East from the country.

List of the principal agglomerations:

Distribution of the activities

The most dynamic areas and gravitational are located in the Sun Belt. The reconversion of the North-East of the country enables him to hold a big role.

See also: ~ ~ ~ Political environmental of the United States of America ~ Transport in the United States

Economy

See also: Economy of the United States, List of American companies

The United States has the most powerful economy of the world, with a GDP which rises with: 13 202 billion dollars (GDP 2006, the World Bank) is a little less than the European Union (: 14 420). In this market economy, the most dynamic sectors are the Informatique, the Aérospatiale, the Santé, the Biotechnologie S and industries of the armament, even if the advance were reduced since the end of the Second world war. The principal asset of the country remains despite everything the tertiary sector (banking services, film production, tourism…). Unemployment rate is relatively weak. The United States suffers from a strong trade deficit. The Bourses of New York are the first of the world.

Several assets explain the power of the US economy: the American territory immense, is well equipped in mining resources (second world producer of coal, Pétrole, Natural gas, Or, Cuivre…) and agricultural. It is located between the two large oceans of planet, the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean. It is also well controlled by a varied grid system (Big lakes, Railways, port S, Aéroport S). The population is Cosmopolite and mobile. The mean level of life is strong, even if the social inequalities are important. The Dollar and the English language have an international radiation. The federal state invests a relatively significant part of GDP in research and does not hesitate to show Protectionniste. The American Multinationale S are present on all the continents and take part in the economic power of the country. The United States is in the middle of ALENA, an regional organization who preaches free movement of the goods and the capital. Some recent figures:

Unemployment rate in October 2006: 4,4 % of the active population
national Debt: : 10155 billion dollars at December 6th, 2006
Growth rate of GDP in 2005: 3,5 %
GDP per capita in PPP in 2004: : 39498 $
Investment (GFCF, 2004): 19,6 % of the GDP
See also: Accord of North-American free trade
Consult the paragraphs on the economy of the states and the big cities.

Demography

Population: : 300000000 inhabitants (October 2006) is 5 % of the world population.

0-14 years: 20,8 % (Man S: : 31122974; Woman S: : 29713748);
15-64 years: 66,9 % (men: : 97756380; women: : 98183309);
+ 65 years: 12,4 % (men: : 15078204; women: : 21172956)

Density: 30,25 hab. /km ²
Life expectancy of the men: 75,6 years (in 2007)
Life expectancy of the women: 80,8 years (in 2007)
Growth rate of the population: 0,92 % (in 2004)
Index of fruitfulness: 2,04 (in 2004).

There also exists of many regional dishes and kitchens: Kitchen amish in Pennsylvania, Kitchen cajun in the South, kitchens virginienne, Californian or of the New England. It is with the United States that were born the fast kitchen (Fast-food) and the consumables from mass, which were diffused in the whole world (Coke, etc).

Religion

Sports

Festivals and bank holidays

Certain days are non-working in a State, but not in the other: in California for example, the Cesar Chavez Day (March 31st) or the Native American Day (4th Monday of September), the public schools can be closed.

Languages

Statute of the languages

Until 2006, no law had been voted to specify the official languages on a federal scale. 27 federate States had voted such laws with the profit chronologically of the English, Hawaiien and Spanish . The two federal political principal parties did not seem inclined to vote such a law, because it poses today the problem on behalf of more in more important of the Spanish-speaking in certain States. To discuss of English as official language was regarded by these parties as a setting in conflict between the anglophone voters and the voters resulting from a recent immigration.

The May 18th 2006, the Sénat adopted a private bill suggested by the republican James Inhofe describing the English like “common and unifying language” of the United States

Random links: