UNITED STATE OF AMERICA

UNITED STATE OF AMERICA

History
Native Americans and European settlers
The indigenous peoples of the territory that now constitutes the U.S. mainland, including Alaska, migrated from Asia. They began arriving at least 12,000 and as many as 40,000 years ago. Several indigenous communities in the pre-Columbian era developed advanced agriculture, grand architecture, and state-level societies. European explorer Christopher Columbus arrived at Puerto Rico on November 19, 1493, making first contact with the Native Americans. In the years that followed, the majority of the Native American population was killed by epidemics of Eurasian diseases.

Independence and expansion.

Declaration of Independence, by John Trumbull, 1817–18
Tensions between American colonials and the British during the revolutionary period of the 1760s and early 1770s led to the American Revolutionary War, fought from 1775 through 1781. On June 14, 1775, the Continental Congress, convening in Philadelphia, established an army under the command of George Washington. The Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence, drafted largely by Thomas Jefferson, on July 4, 1776. The Congress, lacking authority to levy taxes, had difficulty funding the Continental Army. It overprinted paper money, triggering hyperinflation. In 1777, the Congress adopted the Articles of Confederation, uniting the states under a weak federal government, which operated until 1788. Some 70,000–80,000 loyalists to the British Crown fled the rebellious states, many to Nova Scotia and the new British holdings in Canada.[23] Native Americans, with divided loyalties, fought on both sides of the war's western front.

Geography

The United States is the world's third or fourth largest nation by total area, before or after the People's Republic of China, depending on how two territories disputed by China and India are counted. Including only land area, the U.S. is third in size behind Russia and China, just ahead of Canada. The continental United States stretches from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and from Canada to Mexico and the Gulf of Mexico. Alaska is the largest state in area. Separated by Canada, it touches the Pacific and Arctic Oceans. Hawaii occupies an archipelago in the Pacific, southwest of North America. The commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the largest and most populous U.S. territory, is in the northeastern Caribbean. Deciduous vegetation and grasslands prevail in the eastern U.S., transitioning to prairies, boreal forests, and the Rocky Mountains in the west, and deserts in the southwest. In the northeast, the coasts of the Great Lakes and Atlantic seaboard host much of the country's population. With a few exceptions such as the territory of Guam and the westernmost portions of Alaska, nearly all of the country lies in the western hemisphere.

Government and politics

The United States has vast economic, political, and military influence on a global scale, which makes its foreign policy a subject of great interest around the world. Almost all countries have embassies in Washington, D.C., and many host consulates around the country. Likewise, nearly all nations host American diplomatic missions. However, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Bhutan, and Sudan do not have formal diplomatic relations with the United States.
American isolationists have often been at odds with internationalists, as American anti-imperialists have been with promoters of Manifest Destiny and American Empire. American imperialism in the Philippines drew sharp rebukes from Mark Twain and many others. Later, President Woodrow Wilson played a key role in creating the League of Nations, but the Senate prohibited American membership in it. Isolationism became a thing of the past when the United States took a lead role in founding the United Nations, becoming a permanent member of the Security Council and host to the United Nations headquarters. The U.S. enjoys a special relationship with Britain and strong ties with Australia, Japan, Israel, and fellow NATO members. It also works closely with its neighbors through the Organization of American States bd free trade agreements such as the trilateral North American Free Trade Agreement with Canada and Mexico. In 2005, the U.S. spent $27.3 billion on official development assistance, the most in the world; however, as a share of gross national income (GNI), the U.S. contribution of 0.22 percent ranked twentieth of twenty-two donor states. On the other hand, nongovernmental sources such as private foundations, corporations, and educational and religious institutions donated $95.5 billion. The total of $122.8 billion is again the most in the world and seventh in terms of GNI percentage.

Economy

The United States has a capitalist mixed economy. The private sector constitutes the bulk of the economy, with government activity accounting for 12.4 percent of the GDP. Most businesses in the U.S. are sole proprietorships with no payroll.Both the regulatory burden on its companies and its social safety net are smaller than in most developed nations. According to the International Monetary Fund, the United States GDP of more than $13 trillion constitutes 20 percent of the gross world product. The country ranks eighth in the world in nominal GDP per capita and fourth in GDP per capita at purchasing power parity.
The economy is fueled by abundant natural resources, a well-developed infrastructure, and high productivity. Americans tend to work considerably more hours annually, take less vacation, and produce more per hour than workers in other developed nations.n 2005, 155 million persons were employed with earnings, of whom 80 percent worked in full-time jobs.The majority, 79 percent, are employed in the service sectorThe United States is the largest importer of goods and second largest exporter. Canada, China, Mexico, Japan, and Germany are its top five trading partners.

Technology

The United States has been a leader in scientific research and technological innovation since the late nineteenth century, attracting immigrants such as Albert Einstein. The bulk of research and development funding, 64 percent, comes from the private sector.The U.S. leads the world in scientific research papers and impact factor In 1876, Alexander Graham Bell was awarded the first patent for the telephone. The laboratory of Thomas Edison developed the phonograph, the first long-lasting light bulb, and the first viable movie camera. During World War II, the U.S. developed nuclear weapons, ushering in the atomic age. The space race produced rapid advances in rocketry, material science, computers, and many other areas. The U.S. largely developed the Arpanet and its successor, the Internet. Americans enjoy high levels of access to technological consumer goods. Almost half of U.S. households have broadband Internet service The country is the primary developer and grower of genetically modified food; more than half of the world's land planted with biotech crops is in the U.S The United States has had a powerful automotive industry for more than a century; the companies of Ransom Olds and Henry Ford pioneered assembly line manufacturing. The U.S. has the most roadways in the world and a relatively weak intercity passenger rail system. Only 9 percent of total U.S. work trips employ mass transit, compared to 38.8 percent in Europe.

Demographics

RACE ETHNICITY (2005)
White : 74.67%
Hispanic or Latino(of any race) : 14.50%
African American : 12.12%
Asian : 4.32%
Native American and Alaskan Native : 0.82%
Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander : 0.14%
Other/multiracial : 7.92%

Language

Languages (2003)
English (only) : 214.8 million
Spanish, incl. Creole: 29.7 million
Chinese: 2.2 million
French, incl. Creole: 1.9 million
Tagalog: 1.3 million
Vietnamese: 1.1 million
German: 1.1 million

Food and clothing

Mainstream American culinary arts are similar to those in other Western countries. Wheat is the primary cereal grain. Traditional American cuisine uses ingredients such as turkey, potatoes, sweet potatoes, corn, squash, and maple syrup, indigenous foods employed by Native Americans and early European settlers. Slow-cooked pork and beef barbecue, crab cakes, and chocolat chip cookies are distinctively American styles. Soul food, developed by African slaves, is popular around the South and among many African Americans elsewhere. Syncretic cuisines such as Louisiana creole, Cajun, and Tex-Mex are regionally important. Fried chicken, which combines Scottish and African American culinary traditions, is a national favorite. Iconic American dishes such as apple pie, pizza, and hamburgers derive from the recipes of various European immigrants. So-called French fries, Mexican dishes such as burritos and tacos, and pasta dishes freely adapted from Italian sources are widely consumedLeading soft-drink producer Coca-Cola is the most recognized brand in the world, just ahead of McDonald's

Sports

Since the late nineteenth century, baseball has been regarded as the national pastime; football, basketball, and ice hockey are the country's three other leading professional team sports. College football and basketball also attract large audiences. Football is now by some measures the most popular spectator sport in the United States. Boxing and horse racing were once the most watched individual sports, but they have been eclipsed by golf and auto racing, particularly NASCAR. Soccer, though not a leading professional sport in the country, is participated in widely at the youth and amateur levels. Tennis and many outdoor sports are also popular. While most major U.S. sports have evolved out of European practices, basketball was invented in 1891 by Dr. James Naismith in Springfield, Massachusetts, and the regionally popular lacrosse was a precolonial Native American sport. At the individual level, skateboarding and snowboarding are twentieth-century U.S. inventions, related to surfing, a Hawaiian practice predating Western contact. Eight Olympic Games have taken place in the United States, four Summer games and four Winter games. The United States has won 2,191 medals at the Summer Olympic Games, more than any other country, and the second most in the Winter Olympic Games, with 216 medals. Several American athletes have become world famous, in particular baseball player Babe Ruth, boxer Muhammad Ali, and basketball player Michael Jordan. The West Coast (left coast) and New England tend be the most liberal regions, while the southern and Rocky Mountain states tend be the most conservative.