Otázka: The USA
Jazyk: Angličtina
Přidal(a): Zuzana Černíková
The USA
- federation of 50 states
- 4th largest country in the world
- 3rd longest river in the world (Mississippi-Missouri River)
- five time zones
- the richest country in the world
- produce more food, iron, cars, planes, films, music etc. than any other country
- population – about 300 million (most in cities)
- New York, Los Angeles, Chicago
- capital city – Washington DC (District of Columbia)
- White House – seat of President
- states
- small – Rhode Island, Delaware
- big – Alaska, Texas, California
- each has own government and own capital city
- 49th – Alaska (1867) – bought from Russia for 7.2 $
- 50th – Hawaii (1959)
- flag – ‘The Stars and Stripes‘ – one star for each state
- one stripe for 13 states that formed USA
- currency – dollar = 100 cents
Geography
- cover more than one third of the North America
- borders – Mexico in the south (Rio Grande), Atlantic Ocean in the east, Canada in the north (49th Parallel), Pacific Ocean in the west
Country can be divided into five main areas:
- Appalachian Highlands – geologically the oldest
- Mt. Mitchell, Appalachian Plateau – to the west
- Mississippi Basin (Interior Planes)
- Cordilleras – several ranges
- Rocky Mts.
- Great Basin – Death Valley – the deepest place in America
- (85 m below the sea lvl)
- Colorado Plateau – Grand Canyon
- Cascade Range and Sierra Nevada
- Mt. Whitney – the highest peak of the continental USA
- Coast Range
- Mt. McKinley – the highest peak (Alaska)
rivers
- the Mississippi, the Missouri, the Hudson (connects Great Lakes),
- the Colorado, the Columbia, the Rio Grande, the Yukon (Alaska),
- the Niagara River (Niagara Falls)
Great Lakes – Lake Superior (2nd biggest), Michigan, Huron, Erie, Ontario
climate – is varied (from the Arctic climate in the north to the subtropical climate in the south)
History
First Settlements
– the American continent was discovered around the year 1000 by Leif Erickson
who belonged to the Icelandic Vikings, no settlement
– inhabitants – only native Indians
– great demand for spices, textiles, resources
– 1492 – Christopher Columbus discovered America (instead India as he wanted)
– 16th century – colonization of southern USA by Spanish
– the first English colony – founded in Virginia at Jamestown (1607)
– 1620 – people of English ship the Mayflower – colony Plymouth (Massachusetts)
– the Pilgrim Fathers – Puritans – wanted to reform the Church of England, searching for religious freedom
– the first winter – cold >> half of them died
– help and advice of Indians >> good harvest (Thanksgiving)
– 17th century – English, German, French, Dutch, Irish settlers
– looking for land, wealth, religious, personal freedom
– created 13 English colonies
Foundation of the USA
– British government – new taxes on sugar tea, coffee, textiles (because they wanted to pay debts from the war against the French)
– colonists – weren‘t content >> refused to pay taxes
– Boston Tea Party (1773) – event when the Americans dressed as the Indians threw British tea into Boston Harbour
– The War of Independence (1775-1783)
– George Washington – American army leader
– 4th July 1776 – the Declaration of Independence (written by Thomas Jefferson)
– battle of Saratoga, Yorktown – victory of the Americans
Expansion
– 18th – 19th century – buying new lands in the east, wars, treaties >> expansion
– importance of social reforms (abolition of slavery)
– northern states – abolished slavery
– southern states – slaves used to work on large plantations
– conflicts between the South and the North
– the Civil War (1861-1865) – the worst episode in American history
– Abraham Lincoln – granted freedom to all slaves (1863), killed in 1865
– battle of Gettysburg – victory of the North
– results of the war – end of slavery, the Americans became a single nation
End of 19th century and 20th century
– industrial growth
– became leading industrial power in the world
– the ‘Roaring Twenties‘ – large economic growth
– market crash on ‘Black Friday‘ in 1929 >> the Great Depression
– the ‘Cold War‘ – after WWII
– mistrust between the USA and the SSSR
– world divided by the ‘Iron Curtain‘
– several war conflicts (Korean War, Vietnam War)
– the 60’s – enormous social changes, unrest
– the 80’s – economic problems >> high unemployment, inflation
– 1990-1991 – war in the Persian Gulf against Iraq
– 11th September 2001 – attack on WTC in NY by Islamic terrorists
>> the war on terrorism
– 2004 – war against Iraq (Saddam Hussein)
National economy
Industry
– plays leading role
-(still) the largest national economy in the world
- mixed economy (both state and private sectors)
- major industries: oil (Texas), steel (Pitsburg), car (Detroit), aerospace (Texas), telecommunications (Alaska), chemical (Texas), electronics (California), pharmaceutical (California) food (Georgia, Illinois, Minnesota) consumer goods, lumber and mining (Utah, Wyoming, Colorado – esp. coal, Alaska – oil)
US AGRICULTURE
Main agricultural areas:
- around the Mississippi
- Midwest (cereals, cattle)
- California (fruit, including citrus fruit)
Political system
– federal constitutional republic
– federation of 50 states:
– 48 of them in the same general area
– 2 of them geographically separated
– own capital, government
– federal capital – Washington DC
a) legislative power
the Congress the House of Representatives, 435 members, lower)
the Senate (100 senators , higher)
seat: the Capitol, Washington
b) Executive power e.
- the President (head of state, head of government)
- the federal government (with departments)
- state governments
c) Judicial power e.
- the Supreme Court
- lower federal courts
Main political parties (a two-party system):
- the Democratic
- the Republican Party
Interesting places
– Boston – ‘Cradle of Liberty‘, Boston Tea Party
– Cambridge – seat of Harvard University
– New Haven – seat of Yale University
– Princeton – seat of Princeton University
– Philadelphia – the first seat of Congress, former national capital
– Miami – recreation centre
– Cape Canaveral – place where spaceships are sent to space (NASA)
– Dallas – financial and commercial centre of the South-West
– oil industry, cotton market, J. F. Kennedy died here
– New Orleans – important port, cradle of jazz
– Chicago – Sears Tower – the highest building in the USA
– O’Hare International Airport
– Detroit – car manufacturing (Ford, Chrysler)
– Pittsburgh – formerly centre of iron production
– Las Vegas – rodeo festivals, casinos
– Los Angeles – known for Hollywood, centre of film industry, Disneyland
– San Francisco – Golden Gate Bridge, steep streets, Alcatraz
– The Grand Canyon
– Niagara Falls
– Yellowstone NP – in the Rocky Mts.
– the oldest NP in the USA, the widest geyser area
– Yosemite Valley NP – in the Sierra Nevada
– the highest waterfall in the USA, giant sequoias
– Salt Lake City – Winter Olympic Games was held there in 2002
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