A Journey through the Geography & the Culture of the USA

USA
1. Political Division. Flag. Symbols

Political Division
The United States is the fourth largest country in the world. Forty eight of the fifty
states are in the middle of North American continent between the Atlantic Ocean on
the east and the Pacific Ocean on the west. Its about 3000 miles (4800 kilometers)
from the east coast to the west coast and about 1500 miles (2400 kilometers) from
the Canadian border on the north to the Mexican border on the south. The island
state of Hawaii is in the Pacific Ocean, and the state of Alaska is northwest of
Canada. The United States of America is a federal republic of 50 states.

The Flag of the United States:

This is the British (English) flag. Before the American Revolution, it was the flag of the
thirteen American colonies.

This was the Great Union Flag. It was the flag of the American army during the
Revolutionary War. The flag of England was in the corner. The red and white stripes
were the symbols for the thirteen American colonies.

Some people say that Betsy Ross made the first American flag. In the corner there
were thirteen white stars in a field of blue. The new flag also had seven red stripes
and six white stripes.

During the war of 1812 the flag had fifteen stars and fifteen stripes for the fifteen
states. After a battle, Scott Key wrote a song about the American flag. The Star-
Spangled Banner became the national anthem of the United States.

The United States grew and admitted more states to the Union. Now the flag has
thirteen stripes for the thirteen colonies and fifty stars for the fifty states.
American citizens and immigrants sometimes recite the Pledge of Allegiance to the
flag. The pledge is a promise of loyalty to the United States.

Symbols
The delegates of the thirteen American colonies planned the Declaration of
Independence and Thomas Jefferson wrote it. The document declared the
independence (separation) of the colonies from England.

Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence and the delegates signed the
document on July 4, 1776. The Liberty Bell in the State House in Philadelphia rang
out on that day.

The French gave the Statue of Liberty to the United States as a symbol of friendship.
Now it is a symbol of freedom for new immigrants to the country.

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 The American eagle is the official emblem of the United States. It appears on the
Presidential flag and on some coins.

The donkey and the elephant first appeared in political cartoons. They are symbols
for the Democratic and Republican Parties, respectively.

Uncle Sam has the initials U.S. He originally appeared in political cartoons and is an
unofficial symbol of the U.S government.

2. Historical Development. The First Settlers. Growth &

Expansion

1492 - 1500s 1600s Christopher Columbus discovered America. European

explorers and settlers came to the new land for gold, adventure and freedom. The
colonists lived under British laws.
1775 1776 Americans in the thirteen colonies wanted to be free of British rule.
General George Washington led the colonists in the Revolutionary War. Thomas
Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence and the colonies approved it.
1783 1787- 1789 The American colonists won the war and the colonies became the
United States of America. The Constitution became the highest law of the land, and
George Washington became the First President.
1840s 1853 Millions of Europeans came to America as workers during the Industrial
Revolution. The new nation grew and added more states. It expanded to the Pacific
Ocean.
1861 1865 Americans fought one another in the Civil War between the North and
the South. President Abraham Lincoln freed the slaves in the Emancipation
Proclamation. The northern states won the war and the period of Reconstruction
(rebuilding) began.

1865 President Lincoln was assassinated.

1865-1867 Reconstruction in the South.

1869 The transcontinental railroad was completed.

1898 The Spanish-American War.

1917 The US entered World War I

1919 Prohibition became law, so that it became illegal to produce or sell alcohol in
the US until the repeal of the law in 1933.

1920 Women gained the right to vote.

1929-1939 The Great Depression.

1941-1945 The US joined World War II after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.
Americans fought in both Europe and the Pacific. The war ended after the US
dropped atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

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1950-1953 The Korean War.

1954 The Supreme Court ruled in Brown v Board of Education that racial segregation
in public schools is illegal.

1961 President John F Kennedy sent advisers to South Vietnam, beginning US

military involvement in the Vietnam War.

1963 President Kennedy was assassinated. This event, along with the controversy
within the US over its involvement in the Vietnam War and the assassinations of
Martin Luther King (1968) and Robert F Kennedy (1968), had a profound effect on
American society and optimism.

1964-1965 The civil rights movement of the 1950S and 1960s led to the Civil Rights
Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965, guaranteeing basic rights for African
Americans and people of all races.

1969 Neil Armstrong became the first person to walk on the moon.

1973 The US military involvement in Vietnam ended.

1974 The Watergate scandal forced President Nixon to resign.

1991 the First Gulf War-The Collapse of the Soviet Union marked the end of the Cold
War.

2001 Terrorists flew planes into the World Trade Center.

2003 the Iraq War , followed by the occupation of the country.

1917 1920 The United States grew to be one of the great powers in the world. The
nation fought in the First World War. After the war women got the right to vote for the
first time.
1929 - 1933 The Great Depression began with the stock market crash. Banks,
factories and farms shut down and many Americans were unemployed. President
Franklin Roosevelt helped end the depression with the New Deal government.
1941 1945 The United States entered the Second World War when Japan attacked
the Hawaiian Islands. The War ended when the United States dropped the first
atomic bombs, and the world entered the Nuclear Age.
1950s Because of its distrust of and competition with the Soviet Union and other
Communist nations, the United States entered a time of Cold War. Americans fought
in the Korean War. The Civil Rights Movement began, and black and white Americans
fought against segregation (separation of the races)
1960s 1970s 1980s The Space Age began. Americans fought in the Vietnam
War. The United States put the first men on the moon in the Apollo Program. The
Womens Liberation Movement became strong. Computers began to change the
nation faster than ever before.
1991 The first Gulf War. The Collapse of the Soviet Union marked the end of the cold
War.

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 2001 Terrorists flew planes into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon on Sept,
11.
2003 The Iraq War, followed by the occupation of the country

The American People

The United States has the third-largest population in the world. The most distinctive
characteristic of the United States is its people. People from around the world have
come to the United States and influenced its history and culture.
The Native Americans
The first people on the American continent came from Asia. The first migration might
have been as early as 40,000 years ago. Once in America, these people migrated
east across north America and south through Central and South America. When
Columbus arrived in America, there were perhaps 10 million people in North America
alone. These were the people that Columbus called Indians.
The story of the westward growth of the US was also the story of the destruction of
the Native Americans or Indians. Today, the western states have the largest Indian
populations. About one-third of the Native Americans live on reservations.
The British
Beginning in the 1600s, the British settled the eastern part of North America. By the
time of the American Revolution, the culture of the American colonies was thoroughly
British. The British culture was the foundation on which America was built. Over the
years, many immigrants to the US have come from the UK and Ireland.
African-Americans
From 1620 to 1820 by far the largest group of people to come to the US came, not as
willing immigrants but against their will. These people were the West Africans brought
to work as slaves. In all, about 8 million people were brought from Africa.
The Civil War, in the 1860s, ended slavery and established equal rights for black
Americans. But many states, especially in the South, passed laws segregating and
discriminating against black Americans. The civil rights movement helped get rid of
these laws. However, the effects of 200 years of slavery are not easy to get rid of.
Despite many changes, black Americans are still much more likely than white
Americans to be poor and to suffer the bad effects that poverty brings. Today about
12 percent of Americas population is black. Many black Americans live in the south
and in the cities of the Northeast and Midwest.
Immigrants from Northern and Western Europe
Beginning in the 1820s, the number of immigrants coming to the US began to
increase rapidly. Faced with problems in Europe, immigrants hoped for better
opportunities in the US. In the 1840s, widespread hunger resulting from the failure of
the potato crop led many Irish people to emigrate to the US.
During these years, the US was expanding into the Midwest. Many new immigrants
became farmers in the Midwest. To this day, German and Scandinavian influence is
obvious in Midwestern foods and festivals.
Immigrants from Southern and Eastern Europe
From the 1870s to the 1930s more people came from Italy, Greece, Poland and
Russia. Like the early immigrants they came to escape poverty and discrimination.
During this period the US was changing from an agricultural to an industrial country.
Many immigrants settled in cities and worked in factories.
Hispanic-Americans

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 Hispanic immigration has increased in recent decades. Hispanics came from different
countries. Three especially large groups are Mexican- Americans, Puerto Ricans and
Cuban-Americans. These groups concentrated in different areas (Mexican-Americans
in Texas and California, Puerto Ricans in New York, and Cuban-Americans in
Florida). Hispanics are one of the fastest growing groups in the US population.
Asian-Americans
Asians in the US, such as the Chinese and Japanese who had come to California,
met with widespread discrimination. Since the mid-1960s, with changes in
immigration laws and with conflicts in Southeast Asia, Asians have been a major
immigration group. Countries that Asian-Americans have come from include China
and Taiwan, Japan, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and India. Many have settled
in California, Hawaii, New York and Texas.

3. Regional Geography. Relief. Climate & Economic Activities.

Urban & Rural Aspects.

Physical Geography
The country naturally presents a tremendous variety in physical features, ranging
from moist rain forest to arid desert and bald mountain peaks. Mount McKinley in
Alaska at 20,320 feet (6,194 meters) is the highest point in the USA.
The eastern coast of the USA is a rolling lowland area known as the coastal plains.
They stretch from Maine to Texas and they are very flat and swampy.
At the western edge of the Atlantic coastal plain, there is a chain of low, unbroken
mountains, stretching from the northern part of Maine southwest into Alabama, called
the Appalachian Mountains. These mountains contain quantities of coal and iron.
The heart of the USA is a vast plain, which extends from central Canada southwards
to Mexico and from the Appalachian Mountains westwards to the Cordillera. These
interior plains are divided into two major parts: the wetter, eastern portion is called
the Central Plains, and the western portion the Great Plains
To the west of the Great Plains is the Cordillera. It is a region of tremendous variety.
The western edge of the Cordillera is characterized by a coastal chain of high
mountains, among which there are fertile valleys. The most important ranges are the
Sierra Nevada and the Cascades in the eastern part and the Coastal Ranges along
the western coast. Hawaii is a chain of twenty islands only seven of which are
inhabited. The mountainous islands were formed by volcanic activity and there are
still a number of active volcanoes.

The USA has several long rivers. There are a large number of rivers in the east part
of the nation, the longest of which is the Missouri, a tributary of the Mississippi. The
Mississippi-Missouri- Red Rock system extends for 6,176 km before entering the Gulf
of Mexico near New Orleans. Two other tributaries of the Mississippi- the Ohio and
Tennessee- are more than 1,250km long. In the west the Rio Grande, which forms
part of the United States - Mexico border, flows for 3,016 km and only the Colorado,
Columbia and the San Joaquin-Sacramento river systems reach the Pacific.

REGIONS

A - NORTH-EAST

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 This region can be subdivided into two subregions: New England includes six states:
Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut,
and the rest of the states usually referred to as the Mid-Atlantic States (New York,
Pennsylvania, West Virginia, New Jersey, Delaware and Maryland)

1- NEW ENGLAND
Topography
New England is mountainous (Green Mountains of Vermont). It constitutes a
vacationland both in winter and in summer. It is very cold and snowy in winter and
summers are very short. The New England coastline provides good natural harbors.
Thousands of islands lie off the coast of Maine. Most are uninhabited and are visited
only by fishermen.
The Appalachian Trail, a 2,000-mile hiking trail, begins in Maine. It goes all the way
down to Georgia, in the South.

Agriculture, Industries and Economic Activities

New England is the part of the United States that is most like old England. It is also
the most well defined region of the United States. Some farming is carried out in the
plains; farms are small and scattered because the soil is very rocky. In New England
forests give rise to the lumber industry. Along the coast there are many seaports.
Fishing and canning are important activities in New England, with many fisheries in
the area. Maines lobster is famous nationwide and so are oysters. Maines woods
are perfect for a hiking and camping vacation, e.g. Baxter State Park. The park has
many trails and campsites. Maine has hundreds of lakes and rivers for boating. It is
also popular among hunters, because of its many deer, bears, squirrels and rabbits.
Hartford, Connecticut, is the center of Americas insurance industry.
Cape Cod, Marthas Vineyard, and Nantucket are popular Massachusetts summer
resorts.
The fishing grounds are suitably located very near the New England coast. In
Vermont, marble and granite quarrying constitute a very important activity. New
Englands textile and leather industries are of certain importance, too. New England is
highly industrial but it also has many fields, woods and small towns.
The people
The New England Yankee
New England was settled in the 1600s by Puritans from England. The Puritans were
a religious group who objected to the rituals of the Church of England. The Puritans
wanted to purify the religion making it stricter and simpler.
Yankee: it refers to people who live in New England. What is the Yankee character?
Yankees are known for being honest but shrewd, realistic and to-the-point, practical
rather than romantic, untalkative, thrifty and independent. In the eighteenth century,
the American Revolution began in New England. Yankees were among the strongest
supporters of independence. In the nineteenth century, many New Englanders said
slavery did not fit with their beliefs and principles. New England Yankees led the
movement to end slavery in America.

History
a- The Sea

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 From the time the first settlers discovered they could not expect much from the soil of
New England, the sea played a major role in the regions economy.
In colonial times, New England prospered from fishing and trade. Cod was the main
fish export. The American Revolution disrupted trade with England and New
Englanders had to find new trading patterns. They soon were trading with Russia,
Sweden and even China. Whaling became an important activity.
The mid-1800s were the era of the Yankee clipper ships. These elegant ships were
designed for speed and broke many records. The discovery in the 1850s of
underground sources of oil marked the decline of the whaling era in New England.
The days of the clipper ships ended more quickly. In the late 1800s, the sea no longer
played such an important role in New Englands economy. But money earned from
the sea was used to build factories. The result was a new direction for New Englands
economy.
b- Walking the Freedom Trail
The American Revolution lasted from 1775 to 1781. It was events in Boston that led
to the Revolution.
In the 1760s, England passed laws that imposed taxes on the colonists and limited
their rights. Bostonians strongly objected. Riots in 1768 led to the occupation of
Boston by British soldiers. From there, problems grew. In 1770, an angry crowd threw
snowballs at some soldiers. The soldiers then fired into the crowd, killing five men;
this event became known as The Boston Massacre. In 1773, to protest a new tax,
Bostonians dressed as Indians threw 400 crates of British tea into the Boston Harbor.
In response to the Boston Tea Party, Britain closed the harbor. This response was a
severe one, since Boston depended on trade.
Before long, colonists in and around Boston began raising armies and preparing to
fight if necessary. The first shots were fired in April 1775, in the nearby town of
Lexington. Independence was formally declared, by Massachusetts and the 12 other
colonies, on July 4, 1776.
Visitors to Boston can see landmarks of the Revolution by walking the Freedom Trail.
1. The Freedom Trail begins in the Boston Common. When the British
occupied Boston in 1768, their troops camped on the Common. The British set off for
Lexington and the first battle of the war, leaving the Common by boat.
2. In times leading up to the revolution, the Old south Meeting House was
a church and as its name suggests, an important meeting place for the people of
Boston
3. The Old State House was the building from which the British had ruled
Massachusetts. On July 18, 1776, the Declaration of Independence was read from its
balcony.
4. Faneuil Hall, sometimes called the Cradle of Liberty, functioned as
both a market and a meeting place. The British took over Faneuil Hall and used it as
a weapons storehouse and a theatre
5. Paul Revere was a well known silversmith and a hero of the revolution.
The Freedom Trail continued to a neighborhood known as North Boston
6. The colonists knew the British planned to attack Lexington. But they did
not know when or how the British would attack
7. The last stop on the freedom Trail is Bunker Hill. Colonists defended
Bunker Hill against a much stronger British force. The colonists were defeated, but at
a huge cost to the British.
Cambridge

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 This is Americas most famous town. It has the nations oldest university, Harvard
University, founded in 1636. Cambridge remains a centre of intellectual life, especially
since its also home to MIT, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Harvard has
an excellent reputation in many fields; MIT is a leader in science and technology.
Students attending Harvard and MIT come from around the world. A common sight in
Cambridge is Harvard oarsmen rowing on the Charles River. The Harvard rowing
team spends all year preparing for races in the spring, especially for the Harvard-Yale
Regatta.

2. THE MID-ATLANTIC REGION

Topography
The Mid-Atlantic region is by no means uniform: Geographically, historically and
economically, the Mid-Atlantic States are quite different from one another. New York
borders on Canada and has cold winters; Maryland has much in common with the
American South. The Mid-Atlantic States contain important mountain ranges: the
Catskill and the Adirondack in New York, and the Allegheny and Pocono in
Pennsylvania.
The Appalachian region is among the most rural areas in the United States. It
includes parts of thirteen states from New York to Georgia. West Virginia is the only
state that falls entirely within the Appalachian region. The Appalachian region is
mountainous.
The Appalachian Mountains made earning a living difficult. Many Appalachian
traditions center on handicrafts, as people had to make the items they needed.
Appalachian people are known for their independence and their self-sufficiency. Coal
mining has been an important activity in West Virginia; it contributes 10 percent of the
States income. Quilting is a well known Appalachian handicraft. A quilt is a bed cover
made of two layers of fabric stuffed with cotton. Using scraps of fabric, Appalachian
women sewed squares, based on fancy patterns. Then, they sewed the squares
together to make the two sides of the quilt.
The Mid-Atlantic region plays an important role in the United States. Its cities include:
Washington, D.C., the nations capital and New York City, the nations financial
centre. Not surprisingly, the Mid-Atlantic region is densely populated. Although the
region is relatively small, nearly one in every ten Americans lives there.
There are important rivers: the Hudson and the Delaware.
The Hudson River was once very important for commerce. The existence of the Erie
Canal, built in 1823, and connecting Lake Eire (Buffalo) with the Hudson River
(Albany), provides good trade connection between the East and the Great Lakes
section and the Midwest. The opening of this canal boosted the growth and
development of New York City enormously.
The climate in the Mid-Atlantic Sates is temperate; the four seasons are clearly
marked.

Agriculture, Industries and Economic activities

Dairy farming in New York and Pennsylvania is common. Vineyards and winemaking
are common in upstate New York. Berries are grown and maple trees are abundant
(maple syrup). Coal and iron mining and steel making are intensive industries in
Pennsylvania (Pittsburghs Harley-Davidson motorcycle plant).
The good rivers flowing through the Mid-Atlantic States, together with the fine
seaports and the large air terminals make this section the most important

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 transportation center in the USA, and it is undoubtedly the most important industrial
commercial area.
Tourism is a fairly important activity in the northeast: the nations capital, the many
important historical places and the beautiful shades of red, yellow and brown of the
trees in the fall attract thousands of visitors every year.
The high tech industry - computers, electronics and communications - is becoming
more and more significant.
Lake Placid in the Adirondack Mountains was the site of the 1932 and 1980 Winter
Olympics.
Pittsburgh is known as the center of Americas steel industry.
Maryland and its Chesapeake Bay are famous for crabs.
Niagara Falls. Spectacular and beautiful, Niagara Falls has always been especially
popular with two kinds of visitors: thrill-seekers and honeymooners.

Major Cities
NEW YORK
Manhattan is an island just 13 miles long and 2 miles wide. It is the center of
American finance, advertising, art, theatre, publishing, fashion. The borough of
Manhattan is what most people think of New York, one of the most exciting cities in
the world. New York attracts people from all over. New Yorks other boroughs are
Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx and Staten Island. Manhattan is divided into the East
Side and the West Side. The dividing line is Fifth Avenue. Manhattan is also divided
into Lower (Downtown), Midtown and Upper (Uptown) Manhattan
a- The Financial District
The Dutch were the first Europeans to settle Manhattan. The Dutch bought
Manhattan from the Indians, for the ridiculously low price of 24 dollars worth of beads
and trinkets.
To protect themselves from attacks, they built a wooden wall. This wall gave its name
to a street in Lower Manhattan and the street became synonymous with American
capitalism.
The New York Stock Exchange and the American Stock Exchange are both in the
Wall Street area. So are many stockbrokers, investment banks and other banks and
headquarters of many large corporations. To escape the commotion of Wall Street
you can visit the nearby South Street Seaport. The seaport is an open area of low
buildings on the East River. In addition to many shops and restaurants, the seaport
has a museum. You can tour the Fulton Fish Market.
b- The Lower East Side
The Lower East Side was originally an elegant neighborhood. By the mid-1800s it
had become an area in which immigrants settled. First there were many Irish, and
then came many Jews from Eastern Europe. In recent years, the Lower East side has
become home to a newer immigrant group: Puerto Ricans and other Hispanics. There
are also two other neighborhoods: the Italians settled in Little Italy. It is famous for its
restaurants and cafs. Chinatown is next to Little Italy. It has seven newspapers of its
own. It also has nearly 200 restaurants.
c- Greenwich Village & the East Village: Both have an active nightlife with
plenty of bars, restaurants and clubs.
Greenwich Village is a residential area. Over the years the East Village has been a
center for many movements - for the beat poets of the 1950s, the hippies of the
1960s, and more recently for New Yorks punk scene.

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d- Midtown Manhattan
Many of New Yorks offices and jobs are in Midtown. So are many of its famous
skyscrapers. The most famous of the art deco skyscrapers are the Chrysler Building
and the Empire State Building. The Empire State Building has become not only a
symbol of New York but also part of its history. Rockefeller Centre, built in 1930s, is
the worlds largest privately owned business and entertainment centre. Its nineteen
buildings include the monumental RCA Building and the Radio City Music Hall. In the
1950s, there was a second building boom, featuring a new style. The United Nations
Secretariat building was the first glass curtain wall skyscraper. Fifth Avenue has
stores that are among the worlds most expensive - Cartier, Gucci, Tiffanys. Macys
is the worlds largest store.
e-The Theatre District
Times Square
Here youll find New Yorks most elegant theatres. Times Square is named after the
New York Times. The New York Times is considered among the best newspapers in
the country. Times Square is the beginning of the theatre district - the area where
Broadway plays are performed. Broadway has long been the center of theater in the
USA.
Central Park: This huge park in the middle of the city was designed in the 1850s by
landscape architect Frederick Olmsted. Central Park was opened in 1876. Wealthy
New Yorkers built mansions along Fifth Avenue, on the parks east side. The
mansions that remain now hold art collections. This part of Fifth Avenue along Central
Park has so many museums that its called Museum Mile. (The Metropolitan Museum
of Art, etc)
f- Harlem
In 1900 Harlem became a largely black neighborhood. In Harlem, blacks had better
opportunities for housing and education. The 1920s were Harlems great years,
especially in the Arts. Top jazz musicians were heard regularly - Duke Ellington, Art
Tatum. Harlem had a very active club scene. The depression of the 1930s hit Harlem
hard. With a bad economy and ongoing discrimination, many blacks were unable to
earn a living. The neighborhood became poorer and many middle-class blacks left.
Harlem has never recovered, yet it has kept its special feel and remains a center for
black culture. A tour might take you to churches where you can hear gospel music, to
restaurants that serve soul food, and to Harlem night clubs to hear jazz.

WASHINGTON D.C
The Nations Capital
With its grand neoclassical buildings and its tree-lined avenues, Washington, D.C.
strikes the visitor as a lovely and formal city. When it was decided that the new
country needed a new city for its capital, President George Washington himself
helped pick the spot. French engineer Pierre Charles L Enfant created a design
based on Versailles. Washington has one major business, and that business is
government. The executive departments are located in Washington. Many of the
people who live in Washington work for the federal government. When youre in
Washington you can tour the White House. The Supreme Court has a public gallery,
as do the Senate and the House of Representatives.
PHILADELPHIA

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 Philadelphia is the home of the first democratic societies. Its home of important
heavy steel industry, iron and coal. The Quakers settled here in 1680 and gave their
particular mark to the city.

HISTORY
a- The Declaration and the Constitution
Philadelphia, in the state of Pennsylvania is the city where the two most important
decisions in American history were made.
In May 1775, representatives of the thirteen colonies met in Philadelphia to decide
whether to remain with Britain or fight for independence. Fighting had already begun,
but many people still hoped for peace with Britain. Finally, on July 4th, 1776, the
Declaration of Independence was approved. When Independence was won, the
colonies came together, not as a nation, but as a confederation, or group of states. To
prevent tyranny, there was no president and the central government had very little
power. Each state had its own army. The states taxed each others goods. It was
almost as if they were separate countries. The result was great confusion. In 1787,
representatives from all the states met in Philadelphia to discuss the problems. They
soon decided that the confederation could not work and that a new system of
government was needed. For this purpose, they wrote the United States constitution.
For over two hundred years, it has provided the framework for American government.
b- Benjamin Franklin did a lot for his country. He helped write the Declaration of
Independence. During the war, he persuaded the French to aid the colonists. When
the Constitution was being written, Franklin solved some serious disagreements. He
was also a scientist, writer, philosopher and inventor.
By the nineteenth century, Philadelphia lost its early importance. Washington, D.C.,
replaced it as the center of government. New York replaced it as the center of finance
and trade.

B-THE SOUTH
The south is economically, historically and culturally a distinct region. This is the
largest geographical region in the USA. This region includes the states of West
Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina, Mississippi, Alabama,
Georgia, Florida, Louisiana and Arkansas.

Topography
The south can be geographically divided into the lowland South and the upland
South. The lowlands stretch from Maryland south along the coast to northern Florida,
and west to the Mississippi Valley and southeast Texas. This is the area where the
great cotton and tobacco plantations were located. The upland South lies inland from
the lowland belt. There are two mountain areas: the Appalachians and the Ozark
mountains of Arkansas. Perhaps the most basic difference between the South and
other regions is that the Southerners enjoy more days free of frost than Northerners
do. And the South also has more rainfall than the West. The climate is generally
warm, with short winters. The coastal areas are frequently hit by violent hurricanes
coming from the Caribbean and the Atlantic.
Important rivers flow through this region: the Savannah which rises in the
Appalachians and flows into the Atlantic; the Alabama which also rises in the
Appalachians but flows into the Gulf of Mexico; the Tennessee and the Mississippi.

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 There are many forests in this region which have given rise to the lumber industry, to
fine furniture making and to an expanding paper industry (Alabama)
With its warm climate and rich soil, it soon developed an economy based on export
crops like cotton. These were grown on farms worked by slaves from Africa. Conflicts
between the north and the south, especially over slavery, led in 1861 to the Civil War.
In the last few decades, the South has become more industrial and urban than in the
past. Some parts of the South are among the fastest-growing areas in the country.
But the south also preserves its traditions: for example its emphasis on good cooking
and its slower more hospitable way of life.
North Carolina is the center of Americas tobacco industry.
The area near Orlando, Florida is home to Walt Disney World, and many other
amusement parks.
Nashville, Tennessee is the center of country music and home to many country music
stars.

The people
The south has been noted for its hospitality and friendliness, and also for its relaxed
and unhurried way of life. Southern people have their own traditions and their own
culture, and they even speak with a local accent (the southern drawl) easily
recognized by people from other regions. Different types of personalities and
characters can be mentioned: 1. the Appalachian Hillbillies, with their simple way of
life and country music; 2. the French Cajuns of Louisiana, with their music and fine
cuisine; 3. the Hispanic population in Florida, forming what is called Little Havana in
Miami; 4. The Afro-Americans who also contribute a large portion of population in the
South.

HISTORY
The South before the Civil War
The South has a warm climate and a long growing season for crops. So its not
surprising that the Souths economy came to depend on agriculture. By the 1820s,
the South produced and exported rice, sugar and especially cotton. The South felt no
need to develop factories and it remained rural; New Orleans was its only large city.
Crops like cotton were best grown on plantations large landholdings. They also
required a large labor force. For this, the old South depended on slaves, who were
originally brought from Africa. Slavery was the basis for the Souths economy; it was
also what, more than anything, made the South different from the rest of the country.
Slaves were able to survive because they developed a strong culture of their own.
This culture combined African and American elements. Songs and stories, religion
and community were all important.
For a long time, the North and the South each developed differently but without
conflicts. The conflicts came when the nation began to expand west. Southern states
said that the new areas that were being settled should allow slavery; the Northern
states disagreed.
The Civil War
The conflicts worsened and in 1861, the southern states separated from the Union
and formed a new nation: the Confederate States of America. The Northern states
refused to accept this. President Lincoln had not wanted war, but war became
inevitable.

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The American Civil War lasted four years. Many Americans died in the war. The North
had certain great advantages over the South. It had a larger population and most of
the countrys factories and banks.
Effects of the War
When the war finally ended in 1865, the south had been devastated. The most
important long term effect of the war was the end of slavery. Black Americans were
made citizens and were given the right to vote. The Civil War helped transform the
nations economy and way of life. The war effort required more factories and better
transportation systems. The North became much more industrialized than before.
Civil Rights in the South
Although the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments added to the U.S.
Constitution between 1865 and 1870 were to end slavery, make blacks citizens and
give them a right to vote this only happened during the Reconstruction (period after
the war when the Southern states were under military rule). However, once this was
over plantations were not broken up and most blacks still owned no land property.
There was also the issue of racism since many Southern whites argued for the
segregation using violent methods such as lynching or hangings. Also, southern
states passed laws that enforced segregation by separating blacks and whites in
schools, hospitals and other public places. Nevertheless, since blacks had fought in
World War II and many had migrated from farms to cities they were less willing to put
up with unequal conditions. A clear example of this resistance was seen in The
Montgomery bus boycott, in 1955, where Rosa Parks, a black seamstress, refused to
give up her seat in the bus to a white man as the law commanded her to do so. Parks
was arrested and fined and this incident angered Montgomerys black community
resulting in a boycott refuse to use the buses. After more than a year, the U.S.
Supreme Court ruled that bus segregation was against the law in 1956. From this
boycott, the U.S. saw the emergence of one of the civil right movements great leader,
the minister of Montgomerys Dexter Avenue Baptist Church, Dr. Martin Luther King,
Jr., who advocated nonviolent protest.
In the 1960s there were many sittings in which protestors sit at segregated lunch
counters as well as voter registration drives to register people to vote. However,
these nonviolent protests were met with violent responses from mobs and the police
resulting in imprisonments, beatings and even murder. Even though by the mid-1960s
Congress had passed laws making segregation illegal, King realized that these
changes were not enough and that the issue of poverty of blacks and whites in the
South and North had to be dealt with. In 1968, while visiting Memphis, Tennessee to
speak to striking workers, King was assassinated on April 4 th. America has made
great progress, but Kings dream of true equality for all still has not fully come true.

The Mississippi River

The Mississippi is without doubt the most important geographic feature in the eastern
United States. It runs 2,300 miles, from Minnesota to the Gulf of Mexico. At one end,
bears prowl through snow; at the other alligators lie in the sun. With its tributaries the
Mississippi drains all or part of 31 states.
In 1803, the United States wanted to buy New Orleans, at the mouth of the
Mississippi, from the French. Many boats soon traveled down the Mississippi,
bringing cotton and other goods to New Orleans.
In 1811, the steamboat was introduced to the Mississippi. Steamboats were a great
success. The value of goods carried on Mississippi increased astronomically. The
steamboats became large and luxurious.

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 For a while at the end of the 19 th century, the Mississippi lost out to railroads. Today
boats carry bulk cargo, like oil steel and coal that trains cant transport.
Elvis Presley was born in 1935, in East Tupelo, Mississippi. His family was poor.
They moved to Memphis Tennessee in search of better opportunities. He became the
most popular rock singer in the USA. He died in 1977. Each year thousands of fans
visit Graceland, his mansion in Memphis. John Lennon used to say: Before Elvis
there was nothing.
Major Cities
New Orleans
As an American city, New Orleans is unusual. Its a city whose business is above all
pleasure.
For years New Orleans was more like a city of the French Caribbean than of North
America. It was founded by the French in 1718 and did not become part of the USA
until 1803. New Orleans has taken elements from many cultures and created its own
unique culture. New Orleans is where jazz and the blues really got started. Youll find
there are still many jazz clubs in New Orleans, for example, on Bourbon Street in the
French Quarter.
In spring you can go to the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival. There youll
here everything from fiddlers to large jazz bands.
Mardi Gras is the citys most famous festival. There are many parades organized by
special groups. There have always been balls during Mardi Gras (Fat Tuesday) and
there is also a costume contest.
Florida
Walt Disney World, near Orlando, Florida, lets you experience it all: the past, the
present, the future and worlds of fantasy.
But Florida is much more than Walt Disney World:
At Cape Canaveral, you can go to the Kennedy Space Center and tour
buildings where vehicles are assembled and astronauts are trained.
Venice is home to the Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus.
Palm Beach is the place for those who prefer polo. Palm Beach is a place for
the wealthy.
St. Augustine, founded by Spaniards, is the oldest city in the United States.
Fort Lauderdale and Daytona Beach are favorite places for college students
on their spring vacation.
The Florida Keys are a series of coral and limestone islands. Key Largo, one
of the islands, has a huge underwater park. The water is crystal clear, and with its 40
types of corals and 650 species of fish, the park is well worth exploring!
Miami reflects a more recent Hispanic influence. After the Cuban Revolution,
many Cubans settled in Miami. In Miamis Little Havana, youll see Spanish-style
street lights, Cuban food, factories where cigars are rolled by hand.
In addition to its millions of visitors, Florida has many people who come to stay. Many
are retired people, especially from the Northeastern and Midwestern states. For years
their jobs tied them to cold northern winters. Now they can relax in the Florida sun.
Florida has a rapidly growing economy. From 1980 to 1985, the number of jobs in
Florida increased by 25 percent. Florida now produces not just oranges and
grapefruit, but communications and aerospace equipment. The new jobs have
brought younger families to Florida.
Atlanta
After World War II, the South, which had remained agricultural, experienced rapid
industrialization and economic growth. There were many reasons for theses changes.

14
 One of the most important was the invention of air-conditioning. No city grew more
than Atlanta, Georgia. People today speak of the New South. If there is a New South,
then Atlanta is surely its capital. Atlanta has the worlds second largest airport. Of the
500 largest companies in the United States, 450 have offices in Atlanta.
Another characteristic of the New South is improved relations between blacks and
whites. In this sense, Atlanta symbolizes the New South.
Atlanta has also become an important cultural center not only for the south but for the
world. It has kept its Southern charm- its air of politeness and leisurely pace. This
combination of old and new makes the city one of the best places to live.

C- THE MIDWEST
This region sometimes called the Middlewest includes the region west of the
Allegheny Mountains, that is, west of the states of Pennsylvania and West Virginia. It
lies in the general area of the Great Lakes and it comprises the states of Ohio,
Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, Missouri, Iowa, Minnesota, Kansas, Nebraska,
South Dakota and North Dakota.
The Midwest is one of the richest sections of the whole US. In fact, it has been said
that no other section of land in the whole world has been more favored by nature than
this particular region. For this region it has been nicknamed The Bread Basket.

Topography
The key to this gently rolling land has been the mighty Mississippi River. Many large
rivers apart from the Mississippi flow this area: the Missouri, the Ohio, the Illinois, the
Wisconsin and the Wabash.
The region undergoes icy winters and hot humid summers. It is windy all year round.
Geographically the Midwest can be divided into three smaller regions. The northern
Great Lakes area has many hills, lakes and forests. South of that is the prairie area,
which is flat and has good soil for farming. To the west is the Great Plains area,
which, although also farmed, is far drier than the prairie.
The Great Lakes were carved out by glaciers long ago.
The Midwest is Americas geographical center. The exact middle point of the United
States falls in Smith County, Kansas.
The Great Lakes
The Great Lakes -lakes Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie and Ontario- are the largest
concentration of fresh water in the world. They lie on the border between the United
States and Canada. Of the 12 Midwestern states, 6 touch on the Great Lakes (Ohio,
Indiana, Illinois; Michigan, Wisconsin and Minnesota). The Great Lakes have always
played a major role in the Midwests economy. Many of the regions important cities
-including Chicago, Detroit, Milwaukee and Cleveland- are on the Great Lakes. The
lakes are used for transporting grain, timber, ore and other products of the Midwest.
Together, the United States and Canada built and operate the St. Lawrence Seaway,
an inland waterway that can be used by large ships. Canals and rivers link Montreal,
Canada to Lake Ontario and link Lake Ontario and the other Great Lakes. Goods can
be transported all the way from the Atlantic Ocean to Duluth, Minnesota on the
western end of Lake Superior.

The people
The Midwest has a hard-working population of mixed origin. With its strong mixing of
original Anglo- Saxon settlers and immigrant families from almost every country in the

15
 world, the Midwest is considered today to be the most typically American in character
of any region of the US. Midwesterners are open, friendly, straightforward and down
to earth. Many Scandinavian immigrants settled in the north (Minnesota, the Land of
the 1000 lakes) due to the similarity of the landscape. Migrant farm workers travel
from Texas to Canada each year following the crops.
Traditional American values are associated most strongly with the Midwest-
especially with its many small towns. These values focus on family, hard work, church
and community.
The Midwest is also in the political middle. People tend to be conservative but not
extremely so.

Agriculture, Industries and Economic Activities

The Midwest is the center of American agriculture and industry.
The Midwest is a large, economically important region. It contains major industrial
cities and much of Americas farmland.
Corn, wheat, soybeans, oats, rye, and barley are all grown in great quantities in the
Midwestern states of Iowa, Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska and North and South Dakota.
The Midwest has a rich soil, a good climate for agriculture, fertile plains and low
rolling hills. The principal agricultural products of the Midwest are corn (Iowa and
Minnesota, especially), wheat (Kansas), soybean, oats and cattle (especially dairy)
on the Great Plains of North and South Dakota and Nebraska.
Corn is the most important of all American crops, as basic to American agriculture as
iron is to American industry. Due to the large production of corn, this region is said to
constitute the corn belt. There are two main reasons why corn has become the
basic crop of American agriculture. One is that it grows so well. A hectare of corn
requires only one-twelfth as much seed as a hectare of wheat, for instance, and the
yield of grain from the hectare of corn is several times as high as the hectare of
wheat. The other reason is that the farmers have worked out high yield mechanized
production methods in all important corn-producing areas. Corn has also proven to
be a very versatile industrial material. From a corn distilling process, manufacturers
can extract alcohol and fuel, base elements for drugs, vitamins and minerals and a
type of starch which can be turned into a biodegradable plastic film.
Iowa is the biggest corn-producing state.
Manufacturing industries are numerous: they include principally automobiles and
trucks (Ford, General Motors and Chrysler), iron and mining (Minnesota), steel
making in Indiana, Ohio and Michigan (around the lakes) farm machinery and articles
for home house.
The service industries have grown enormously: insurance, banking, communications.
Educational facilities are prolific, especially in Ohio.
Tourism is also an important activity. National parks in Minnesota, Wisconsin and
Nebraska ant the presence of the lakes attract many people on vacation.

Major Cities
Chicago
Just as the Midwest is considered the most American region, Chicago, in Illinois,
has been called the most typically American city. And just as the Midwest is Americas
center, so Chicago is the center of the Midwest.
Chicago is on Lake Michigan, and waterways made Chicago a natural link between
the products of the Midwest and the markets of the East. Soon Chicago was a center
for meatpacking and grain storage, as well as for the manufacturing of farm

16
equipment. In this way, Chicago played a key role in the growth of the Midwest and of
the United States.
You can see many architectural landmarks if you visit the Loop. The Loop is
Chicagos downtown area (it got its name because Chicagos elevated railway makes
a circle, or loop around it). Chicagos tallest buildings are the John Hancock Tower or
Big John, the Standard Oil Building, and the Sears Towers, which is the worlds
tallest building.

Motor City
In 1701, Antoine de la Mothe-Cadillac founded Detroit. But, in many ways, Detroit
really got its start almost 200 years later. In 1869, in a workshop in Detroit, Henry
Ford built a vehicle he called Quadricycle. With this, Detroit was on its way to
becoming Motor City -the city that is home to the American automobile industry.
Like other American cities, Detroit has had its problems. The big three of the US
automobile industry -Ford, Chrysler and General Motors- are important employers in
Detroit. Together, they employ 1 in 10 of the citys workers. The Depression of the
1930s brought hard times. So did the early 1970s. In general, when the national
economy does poorly, Detroit is one of the first cities to feel it.
The University of Michigan and Ohio State University are two large, respected
Midwest schools.

The Indians of the Great Plains

In the Black Hills of South Dakota there are two huge monuments carved from
mountains. One is the Mount Rushmore National Monument. It shows the faces of
four American Presidents: George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln
and Theodore Roosevelt. The other is the Crazy Horse Monument. It shows the
famous Sioux Indian leader on horseback. These two monuments are tributes to
heroes of two cultures that clashed on the American continent.

St Louis in Missouri is called the Gateway to the West because of its favorable
position on two rivers: the Mississippi and the Missouri. The city has French roots and
a large African-American population lives here. In a city in upper Missouri, the famous
American writer Mark Twain was born and grew up. His real name was Samuel
Clemens and he describes the wonders of rafting on the river in his novel The
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.

The Destruction of the Buffalo

The struggle between the Indian tribes of the Great Plains and the US army took
place from 1860 to 1890. The Indians were defeated, but not just by the army.
Many Indians died from disease. Whites brought new diseases to which Indians had
no resistance. A smallpox epidemic in 1837 almost destroyed entire tribes.
The Plains Indians were nomadic hunters: They traveled over large areas and hunted
buffalo. The Indians used almost every part of the buffalo. The bones were made into
tools; skins became robes and tepees, and fat was used for fuel. Buffalo meat was an
important food.

D- THE SOUTHWEST

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 Topography
The Southwest is characterized by geographical and cultural variety. Geographically,
the region ranges from humid lands in eastern Texas to drier prairies in Oklahoma
and Texas to mountains and deserts in Arizona and New Mexico.
Five states lie in this region: Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Arizona and Nevada.
In the past, the region was known as the Wild Wild West, because it was a territory
where cowboys held frequent gunfights and Indians used to make raids against the
caravans of colonists.
The Southwest differs from the Midwest in three primary ways; first, it is drier.
Second, it is emptier. Third, the population comprises a different ethnic mix. Outside
the cities, the region is a land of wide open spaces. Rain occurs only in the spring,
and sometimes the abundance of water brings about floods. The eastern part of this
region is desert. The central sector is partly run by the Rocky Mountains in the
southern portion. The western sector contains the southern part of the Great Plains.
The southern part of Texas forms part of the Coastal Plain on the Gulf of Mexico.
West of the Rocky Mountains is the Colorado Plateau, which covers much of
Northern New Mexico and Arizona. It is here that the Colorado River has carved the
spectacular Grand Canyon. Both the Colorado and the Rio Grande provide irrigation
for the little farming conducted in this region and have also served for the
construction of huge dams for the generation of hydroelectric power. (example,
Hoover Dam)

The Grand Canyon

The Grand Canyon was formed by the Mighty Colorado River cutting into a plateau in
Arizona. The canyon is 277 miles long and about 1 mile deep. Because its so deep,
the top and the bottom have very different weather and vegetation. The canyon is
visually stunning with gold, pink and purple bands of rock. Each of these bands is a
stratum or layer of the earths crust. Some strata took over 170 million years to form.

The people
Culturally, the region is home to many Indians and Hispanics, as well as the Anglos.
The population of the state of New Mexico is about 10% Indian, 40% Hispanic and
50% Anglo.
Native Americans and Mexican Americans make up a large sector of the population.
Texas, New Mexico and Arizona have a larger Spanish-speaking population than any
other region except for Southern California. More Native Americans live here than in
any other state. They are members of over thirty tribes (Comanches, Apaches,
Navajos, Cherokees, etc). Hundreds of years before the arrival of the European
conquistadors, the native American Pueblo tribes in the southwest like the Hopis and
the Taos where building houses from clay bricks, which the Spaniards later called
adobe. Throughout the region we also find the influence of the Hispanic culture.
Santa Fe the capital city of New Mexico was originally a mission established by
Spanish missionaries to convert the Indians to Catholicism, the richness of Spanish
and native American cultures is reflected in the arts and architecture. At present,
many people from other regions and from Mexico and Central America are
immigrating to the Southwest, and in the future the big cities here may become
overpopulated.
Arizona and New Mexico have long been home to many Indian groups and have
some major Indian reservations, including that of the Navajo, the largest tribe in the
United States.

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 Agriculture, Industries and Economic Activities
The Southwestern states are rich in minerals. Livestock is also an important part of
the Southwests economy.
While some parts of the southwest are dry, others receive plenty of rainfall. Some of
the drier areas under irrigation have proven very fertile. Many farmers in the region
can grow crops all year because the weather is warm. Cotton is grown in all four
states, while wheat is grown in Oklahoma and northern Texas. In the coastal plain in
Texas farmers grow oranges and rice. Sheep raising is carried out in New Mexico and
Texas, whereas in some grasslands in these states cattle is also raised. Texas
produces more sheep and cattle than any other state. Due to the existence of wide
open spaces, industries connected with the manufacturing of weapons, missiles and
explosives have settled here.
Tourism is also important: many National Parks and Recreation Areas attract
thousands of tourists.
The area is rich in minerals: half of the copper of the US comes from Arizona, and
uranium and coal are extracted in New Mexico. Oil drilling and refining is an important
part of the economy. Texas and the Gulf (off shore platforms) are the leading crude oil
producers. The centre of the oil industry is Houston, Texas which is the largest city in
the Southwest and also a major port (a man-made canal has linked it to the Gulf).
Houston is also the home of one of the NASA Space Centers.
Native Art like Indian handicraft in stone, silver and basket weaving provides a source
of income for many Native American families.
Farming remains an important activity in Oklahoma. The state is a major producer of
wheat. But earning a living as a small farmer is becoming more difficult.

Major Cities
Texas held the status of an independent nation between 1836 and 1845. The
territory originally belonged to Mexico, but in 1836 it separated from Mexico after
several battles between Texans and the Mexican army. In 1845 Texas was admitted
as a state of the Union. Today Texas produces about one-fourth of Americas oil.
Food in Texas as elsewhere in the Southwest is strongly influenced by Mexican
cooking. With so many cattle ranches, its not surprising that beef is an important
ingredient in Texan cooking. In fact, Texas was the birthplace of the hamburger.
Houston is an oil and space centre joined to the gulf by a gateway.
Dallas is known as the City of Hate. There is a large black and Asian population
with no apparent integration. The city became famous when President John Kennedy
was killed here, in 1963.
Austin is the capital city of Texas.
Santa Fe, the capital city of New Mexico, is the centre of Native American and
Hispanic culture and history. Many people of such cultural backgrounds visit Santa Fe
to get the feeling of their ancestors.
Phoenix capital of Arizona was built in the desert; hence its name like the bird
which revived out of its own ashes. Phoenix and Tucson are known as oasis cities
due to the fact that they provide relief to travelers in the desert.
San Antonio is very much a river city although the San Antonio isnt much of a river.
Many of San Antonios numerous festivals take place at lest partly on the River Walk.

19
 San Antonio is famous for its missions, built in the early 1700s by Spanish priests
who came to convert Indians to Catholicism.
Las Vegas is a center of gambling in America. Today, Las Vegas is an oasis of
neon lights: Las Vegass hotels and gambling casinos use so much neon that Las
Vegas has been nicknamed the City of Lights. One of Las Vegass older neon
landmarks is Cowboy Vic, a smiling cowboy who waves at people passing by. This
city has several nicknames: The Entertainment Capital of the World, Sin City, Fun
City, Lost Wages and the Twenty-Four Hour City. The city started developing
around the Flamingo casino built by Bugsy Malone in 1905. Both Reno and Las
Vegas have legalized gambling and prostitution
Arizona and New Mexico are both known for their varied and often spectacular
scenery: deserts as well as mountains and high plateaus.
There are some places to visit:
- In The Saguaro National Monument you can hike along desert trails. Youll see
the tall saguaro cactus along with many other types of cactus.
- In Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park, you can see strange rock formations
that arise straight up into the air.
- The wind is also responsible for the White Sands National Monument.
- The Carlsbad Caverns with many caves to explore.
- The Painted Desert looks like huge piles of sand painted in all the colors of the
rainbow.

The Cowboy
The first cowboys were Mexican; many cowboy customs began in Mexico. There
were also black cowboys -often ex-slaves freed by the Civil War- and Indian
cowboys. People also forget that the cowboys main job was to take care of cows and
to get them to market. The cowboys life, although full of adventure, was hard and
often boring. Today, there are still cattle ranches and cowboys. The work in many
ways remains the same. But with fences and modern machines, a lot has changed.

E- THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN REGION

The region has some of the least populated states in the nation. Denver, Colorado is
its only large city. The government owns much of the land -66% in the case of Utah.
Like the Great Plains, the vast Mountain Region was a land which people hurried
through on their way west. Seeking land and gold, the settler found neither at first, so
he rode on west, but later, gold was found in the Rocky Mountains and people hurried
back to this region and settled here.
The states forming part of this region are Idaho, Wyoming, Montana, Colorado and
Utah.

TOPOGRAPHY
The mountain region has plains and even deserts, but its main geographic feature is
the Rocky Mountains. These mountains stretch from Alaska to northern Mexico and
include many smaller ranges.
The Rockies are among the earths youngest mountains. Because they are young,
they are not worn down. They have steep slopes and many peaks and valleys. The
mountains give the region spectacular scenery and they limit economic development.
They are high, sharp and rugged because they are geologically new formation. In the

20
 high valleys, there are remains of glaciers while below them there are clear, icy lakes
which the glaciers made. To the west of the Rockies lies a section of flat level land,
called the plateau area, which is dry and sandy. The mountains, on the other hand,
are forested and have many rivers. The waters coming down from the mountains had
no way to reach the sea, so they spread out in numerous shallow lakes. As the water
evaporated, minerals remained in the lake beds. The Great Salt Lake (Utah) contains
an estimated 6 million tons of salt. In general, the mountains are very rich in mineral
ores.

The People
Indians were the first people to occupy the mountain territory. Some native
population still remains. But in its most part, the population is made up of
descendants of the same Anglo-Saxon and foreign immigrant groups who moved as
pioneers. Population is naturally limited to those areas where people can live and
work conveniently. The region is sparsely populated, representing at present only 3 to
4% of the nations population. The people of this region are individualistic, naturalists
and many have developed the cowboy type. The Mormon religious group, coming
from New England, established its base in the state of Utah in 1850. Salt Lake City is
the home of the Mormon religion. They set for themselves high educational
standards.

Agriculture, Industries Economic Activities

In this land of little water, farming is very difficult, but thanks to irrigation canals built
by man, the area now has many towns and farms. In Idaho, potatoes are produced in
huge amounts, and also sheep are raised in large numbers in the mountain
grasslands. In Montana and Wyoming cattle raising (or the raising of livestock) is
intensive, and cattle ranches and cowboys are almost a part of the landscape.

The Rocky Mountains states are rich in natural resources: there are deposits of oil as
well as gold, silver, copper and other minerals. Large quantities of important minerals
come from the mountain states: iron, coal, cooper, gold and silver and some zinc and
lead. Arizona leads the country in the production of cooper, followed closely by Utah
and Montana. Wyoming and Colorado are also important oil-producing states.

Tourism is a very important source of income. It is conducted in two different fashions.

First, the National Parks and recreation areas are good vacationland for thousands of
people. The National Park service originated here to protect and preserve natural
resources, wilderness areas and forests. The first and most famous National Park is
Yellowstone in Wyoming, established in 1871. A great attraction is its hundreds of
geysers in constant activity.
A second type of tourism is developed in the many ski resorts and mountain camps
where people practice ski, camping, hiking, fishing, etc. Colorado is sometimes called
Ski Country/USA. This isnt quite fair for the other Rocky Mountain States, which also
have excellent skiing. But it isnt surprising: Colorado has nearly forty resorts, many
of which are internationally known.

Idaho is famous for its potatoes.

Fishing, hunting, river rafting, rock climbing, hiking, bicycling, horseback riding are
some of the outdoor activities you can do in the Rockies.

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 Mining, ranching and farming are important to the regions economy.

The Mountain states have many ranches. Some are real ranches open to tourism:
guests can see ranch cowboys at work and can even help out. Others feature a
special activity like hunting, fishing or in some cases hot-air-ballooning!

Facts about the States and Cities

Utah is nicknamed The Mormon State. The Great Salt Lake lies in this state and
the imposing architecture of the Mormon Temple is a distinguishing landmark of the
capital city.
Denver in Colorado stands at an elevation of 1600 m above sea level. The
Coloradoans have always fought for the preservation of the environment and for the
use of the alternative sources of energy. Denver is a research center for such energy
resources. The city refused to host the 1970 Olympic Games for fear of population
and environmental destruction.
It is called the Mile High City It lies on the eastern slope of the Rockies. To its east
are vast plains; to its west are the mountains. There are no other large cities around.
Over the last 30 years, Denver has become an important center for energy research
and for high-tech industries. Many people -especially young people- have moved to
Denver.

Aspen
Aspen is one of the most popular ski resorts in Colorado. Aspen has something for
everyone. Many celebrities and wealthy people have homes here. Cross-country
skiing, also called touring, has become as popular as downhill skiing.

Yellowstone National Park

Yellowstone became the first US national park. It has more thermal activity than any
other place in the world. The geysers, which shoot water into the air, are especially
spectacular. Yellowstones most famous geyser is Old Faithful. In Yellowstone you
can also see many different animals and birds. Animals at Yellowstone include grizzly
bears and black bears, buffalo, elks, deer, antelope, coyotes, and lynxes.
The parks thermal activity also helps provide the animals with food. Heat from the
geysers makes grass grow better and in winter keeps the grass from being covered
by snow.
Jackson Hole, Wyoming
Although the Tetons are lower than many other mountain ranges in the Rockies, they
are very dramatic. When they were formed, the valley floor sank. So the Tetons rise
straight up from the valley, without the usual foothills. The valley at the foot of the
Tetons is called Jackson Hole.

G- THE PACIFIC REGION

This region includes the states of California, Oregon, Washington, Alaska and
Hawaii.

Topography

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 All the continental states in this region are partly mountainous. These mountains are
the Cascade Range in Oregon and Washington, the Sierra Nevada Mountains in
California, the Coastal Range, running along the very coast from Washington down to
California and the Alaskan Range.
A chain of fertile valleys lie between the mountains. To the west of the mountains,
winds coming from the Pacific carry enough moisture to keep the land well watered.
To the east, however, the land is very dry. The wet climate near the coast supports
great forests of trees like the redwoods and Douglas firs. The highest mountain peaks
in the US are located in this region: Mount Whitney in the Sierra Nevada (4400m) and
Mount McKinley in Alaska (6200m)
This region is known for its natural beauty, a beauty that is fairly tame in Oregon and
Washington and much wilder in Alaska. There are mountains, forests and rugged
coastlines. The outdoors play an important role in peoples lifestyles, which tend to be
casual and informal.
The weather
Not all of Washington and Oregon is rainy. In fact, many areas get only about 6
inches of rain all year! The Cascade Mountains run through Washington and Oregon.
Moist air from the Pacific Ocean loses its moisture, as rain, by the time it passes the
Cascades. So there is a wet side to the west of the Cascades and a dry side to the
east.
The Olympic Rain Forest, like a tropical forest, is damp and gets very little sunlight.
Unlike, a tropical forest, it is cool.
The Ring of Fire
Mount Mazama is part of the Pacific Oceans Ring of Fire, as are 60 percent of the
worlds volcanoes. This ring stretches around the Pacific -from New Zealand through
Japan, Central America and South America.
In Washington and Oregon, volcanoes occur as a row of isolated peaks near the
Cascade Mountains. These volcanoes are important for recreation and scenery.
Many climbers in this area try to climb all the volcanoes. Volcanic Mount Rainier is so
familiar to the people of Seattle that they call it The Mountain.

Facts about the States and Cities

Alaska is nicknamed the Last Frontier. It is the largest state of the Union, but only
500,000 people live in it. The State is a vast extension of land and mountains with a
harsh climate, but very rich in natural resources. The Yukon River became famous as
source of gold creating a Gold Rush in 1897. Anchorage is the capital city.
The territory of Alaska was bought from Russia in 1867 for the ridiculous sum of a
little over seven million dollars. It became a state in 1959.
Alaska is twice the size of Texas. One-third of Alaska is above the Arctic Circle. Areas
near the Arctic Circle experience long periods of perpetual light in summer and long
periods of perpetual dark in winter. Alaska has had temperatures as low as -80F and
has areas of permafrost, ground that is always frozen. Today Alaska has slightly
500,000 people, about 15 percent of whom are native. Native refers to people in their
groups: Indian, Eskimo, and Aleut. The Indians are several different tribes. The
Eskimos live not only in Alaska but in an area from Siberia to Greenland. The origin of
the Aleuts is not known. It is thought they may have come long ago from a northern
island of Japan.
The first non-natives came from Russia. Many Alaskans still belong to Russian
Orthodox Church. Air travel is the most important form of transportation. Almost every
community in Alaska has a landing field for planes.

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Alaska has five major regions: the Southeast, South Central, Interior, Southwest and
Arctic regions.
Southeast Alaska
The Southeast consists of a thin strip of mainland and islands. It is a magnificently
scenic land of ocean, rugged coasts, steep mountains, glaciers and rainforests.
Juneau, Alaskas capital, is larger in area than any other city in the USA but has only
about 25,000 residents.
South Central Alaska
It is a coastal area. It has over half of Alaskas population. The majority of these
people live in the city of Anchorage. Anchorage is largely new. In 1964 this part of
Alaska was hit by a strong earthquake, much of Anchorage had to be rebuilt. It has
also grown rapidly since the 1970s, when it became the center for Alaskas booming
oil industry. Palmer is an agricultural town. Although the growing summer season is
short, summer days have as many as 20 hours of daylight. The town of Talkeetna is a
starting point for expeditions climbing Mount McKinley, North Americas tallest
mountain.
The Interior
The interior is a vast plateau between two mountain ranges. It has thick forests but
also areas of permafrost. Winter temperatures of -60F are not uncommon and yet
summer temperatures have reached 90F.
Southeast Alaska
Southeast Alaska consists of a peninsula and islands, including the Aleutian Islands,
which reach out over one thousand miles into the Pacific. The relatively few people
who live in the Southwest are mainly Aleut and Eskimo.
The Arctic Region
There are small scattered settlements on the western and northern Arctic coasts. The
most important cities are: Nome and Barrow.
Alaskan land is incredibly beautiful. It is also very rich in natural resources. One fifth
of all oil produced in the United States is from Alaska.
Hawaii, nicknamed the Aloha State, also became a state in 1959. It is made up of
several big islands and hundreds of small ones, all of volcanic origin. The islands are
covered with tropical vegetation, jungles and exotic flora and fauna. Hawaii is situated
3200 km southwest of San Francisco. The four largest islands are Hawaii, Maui,
Oahu and Kauai. Honolulu in Oahu is the capital city. (Pearl Harbour naval base
surprise attack form the Japanese in 1941, decided US intervention in World War II)
Hawaiis active volcanoes (one of them called Mauna Loa) attract thousands of
tourists every year.
Today tourism accounts for 30 percent of Hawaiis income. Hawaii has some of the
worlds best surfing.
Hawaiis agricultural products include sugar, pineapple and macadamia nuts.
Hawaiian culture reflects ethnic mix. Hawaii has been described as a place where
East meets West. The main language spoken is something other than English. Pidgin
is spoken in Hawaii. It began in the 19thC, as a kind of combination of languages that
enabled workers from different countries to communicate.

With its imposing bridges over the bay (Golden Gate Bridge and Bay Bridge), San
Francisco is known as The Statue of Liberty of the West. Typical sights in the city
are its cable trams, Victorian houses and the streets running up and down the hills on
which the city is built. The population is said to be gaysian, a mix of gays and
Asians. The 1849 Gold Rush gave rise to the forty niners. Forty niners who went to

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California by ship passed through San Francisco. Many of them returned to San
Francisco to stay. San Francisco people feel themselves to be culturally superior to
people from Los Angeles. It has also a reputation as an intellectual, liberal and
slightly crazy city. In fact, there are a lot of cultural events going on in San Francisco
all year round. The Golden Gate Bridge is a suspension bridge, which opened in
1937, goes between San Francisco and Marin County to its north. It is surrounded
on three sides by water. San Francisco has 40 hills. The Saint Andreas geologic
fault, running nearby, originates frequent earthquakes and shakes.
California earns more from grapes than from any other crop. Many of the grapes
grown are grapes for wine. There are now vineyards and wineries all along the length
of California. The most important area for wine lies to the north of San Francisco, in
Napa and Sonoma counties. Interest in wine and natural beauty also draws many
visitors to Napa and Sonoma counties. Many wineries and fine small restaurants are
in old stone buildings.
Los Angeles is the second largest city in the US. Its attractive for tourists because
of its connection with the movie and TV industry and stars (Hollywood, Beverly Hills).
A lot of wealthy people live here, and life is frivolous in many circles of society.
Commuting on the numerous and excellent freeways is a way of life. Its system of
public transportation was improved only recently. Some of LAs districts are violent
and gang territory. Los Angeles is a center, not only for entertainment and tourism,
but also for manufacturing business and finance, aerospace, oil and trade. Its ports
handle more cargo than New York. Los Angeles faces some serious problems. With
so much traffic, Los Angeles has the dirtiest air in the USA. Crime and violence are
also major problems.
Hollywood was once farmland. By 1910, however, filmmakers began moving there.
Southern Californias climate was perfect for shooting movies year-round. Today, of
the major studios, Paramount is still in Hollywood. You can see two great theatres
Pantages Theater and Manns Chinese. Manns Chinese is famous for its cement
courtyard with footprints and handprints of stars who were in.
Seattle, in Washington, is Americas most lively city. It is surrounded by beautiful
mountain landscape. People are well educated. The landmark of the city is its almost
2000 m high Space Needle, with a revolving restaurant at the top. Seattle is the home
of the Boeing Aircraft industry, where famous Boeing jets are manufactured (747,
Jumbo, 737, 727, etc)
Seattle is often called the Emerald City, or the jewel of the Pacific Northwest. Like a
beautiful jewel in an expensive ring, Seattle is in an exquisite setting: it is surrounded
by green hills and the water of Puget Sound. Seattle has strong ties to Asia, as is
apparent from its International District (ID). Many of the people living in this
neighborhood are from China, Japan, Korea, Vietnam, Cambodia and other countries
of Asia. The ID has Chinese and Japanese supermarkets, an Asian-American
museum, and a park named Kob. Seattle has often been called Americas most
livable city. Its a large city, with plenty of jobs and excitement; yet it also has a small-
town atmosphere, with friendly people. It has fine theaters, and yet it also has water
and mountains.

Also, the lowest point in the continent is situated in the Pacific Region. It is in Death
Valley, a desert in the south of California. Some of the central valleys lying between
the mountain ranges are the Sacramento, the San Joaquin, the Napa and the
Imperial valleys. Some of these serve as bed for fairly important rivers: the

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 Sacramento and the San Joaquin in California and the Columbia and the Willamette
rivers in Washington.

Many people think of California as the state that symbolizes the American dream.
There, individuals have the opportunity to succeed. California is famous for its land. It
has different environments. Redwood trees grow in northern California. The
redwoods are very tall and very old. Some are 2,000 years old. Redwood forests and
swiftly running rivers are a part of northern California.
Californias Death Valley, the lowest spot in the USA, is also one of the hottest and
driest. The land in southern California is more like Mexico. Northern and Southern
California differ in lifestyle. Californias people come form different places and
cultures. Over one-fourth of Californias population is Hispanic. California also has a
large Asian population; one third of all Asian-Americans live in California. It was
originally part of Mexico, and some Hispanics are the descendants of old Californian
families. Many others are Mexican-American who came more recently. Other
Hispanics are from countries in Central and South America.

The People
Except for Hawaii and Alaska, the western states have all been settled by people
from other parts of the nation and the world. Thus, the region presents an interesting
mix of ethnic groups. In southern California, people of Mexican descent play an
important role in every part of the economy. In the valleys north of San Francisco,
Italian families have run vineyards and wineries for years. Japanese and Chinese
immigrants also settled in Oregon and northern California, and more recently, a great
wave of Vietnamese, Taiwanese and Korean refugees has landed in the Pacific
states.
This ethnic mix has given rise to an increasing racial tension and violence, especially
in large urban areas like Los Angeles, where gang fights and riots are everyday
issues.
Alaska and Hawaii are states in which the majority of the population is from native
origin (Eskimos in Alaska and Asian and Polynesian in Hawaii). A quite different type
of life is lived here in these states: casual, informal attached to nature.

Agriculture, Industries and Economic Activities

The mild climate in many parts of this region has made it well known for its large
production of fruit and vegetables: citrus and vegetables in California; apples and
raspberries in Washington. The orchards in the central valleys also yield peaches,
olives, beans, onions and lettuce. Grain and cotton row all year, and sheep and cattle
feed in the pasture lands. Migrant workers are a common feature, following the crops
all around the region. In Hawaii, tropical fruits (coconut, pineapple, coffee, etc) and
sugar are produced.
Puget Sound (an inlet in the sea) in Washington and the Columbia River are very rich
in salmon and seafood. Therefore, the fishing industry and its associate industries
(freezing, canning, etc) are a very important activity in the northwest .
The eastern side of the Cascade Mountains is covered by dense forests of giant firs
and redwoods (sequoias). The Forests Service helps to regulate the exploitation of
forest lands so that they are properly managed. Timber and paper are derived
industries in the north.
The oil industry is widely expanded in California and Alaska (pipeline), and mining is
also considerably important in both of these states. Fur trade, whaling and sealing

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 (hunting of whales and seals), and deer management are also typical activities in
Alaska.
Tourism is the most important service industry thanks to the scenic beauty existing all
around the region (mountains, coastline, National Parks). No less important is the
media industry, and the movie and show business, especially in and around Los
Angeles in California. This city is also an important financial and trade center.
The computer industry has its center in Silicon Valley, east of San Francisco.

4. The System of Government. The Institutions. Education.

Holidays & Festivals.

The System of Government

The United States is a representative democracy. All government power rests
ultimately with the people, who direct policies by voting for government
representatives. The nations constitution defines the power of national and state
governments, the functions and framework of each branch of government and the
rights of individual citizens. All public officials of the national as well as state
governments must swear to abide by the Constitution, which was created to protect
the democratic interests of the people and the government.
The principle of limited government is basic to the Constitution. When the
constitution was first written about two hundred years ago, many Americans feared
that government power could become concentrated in the hands of a few. Several
features were created to guard against this possibility:1- the federal organization of
government; 2- the separation of powers among different branches of governments;
3- a system of checks and balances to restrict the powers of each branch.
Under federalism, the principle of limited government was achieved by dividing
authority between the central government and the individual states. The federal
government has powers over areas of wide concern: For example, it has the power to
control communication among states, borrow money, provide for the national defense
and declare war.
The states possess those powers which are not given to the national government.
For example, each state establishes its own criminal justice system, public schools
and marriage and divorce laws.
There are certain powers, called concurrent powers, which both the federal and state
government share.
Besides the division of power between state and national governments, power is also
limited by the separation of power among three branches: legislative, executive and
judicial. In the US, each branch has a separate function.

The Institutions
The function of the legislative branch is to make laws: the legislative branch is made
up of representatives elected to Congress. Congress is comprised of two groups,
called houses: the House of Representatives (the House) and the Senate.
Lawmakers from all of the states are elected to serve in the House of
Representatives. The number of representatives each state sends to the House
depends upon the number of districts in each state. Each district chooses one

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representative. The number of districts in each state is determined by population. The
most heavily populated states have more districts, and therefore, more
representatives than the sparsely populated states. Each representative is elected to
a two-year term.
The Senate is the smaller of the two bodies. Each state has two senators. The
senatorial term is six years. Every two years, one third of the Senate stands for
election.
How a bill becomes a law
Each house of Congress is engaged in making laws, and each may initiate
legislation. A law first begins as a bill. Once a bill is introduced, it is sent to the
appropriate committee. Each house of Congress has committees which specialize in
a particular area of legislation, such as foreign affairs, defense, banking and
agriculture. When a bill is in committee, members study it and then send it to the
senate or House chamber where it was first introduced. After a debate, the bill is
voted on. If it passes it is sent to the other house where it goes through a similar
process.
The Senate may eject a bill proposed in the House of Representatives or add
amendments. If that happens, a conference committee made up from members of
both houses tries to work out a compromise. If both sides agree on the new version,
the bill is sent to the president for his signature. At this point, the bill becomes a law.
The executive branch of government is responsible for administering the laws
passed by Congress. The President of the US presides over the executive branch.
He is elected to a four-year tem and can be re-elected to a second term. The vice-
president, who is elected with the president, is assigned only two constitutional
duties. The first is to preside over the Senate. The second duty is to assume the
presidency if the president dies becomes disabled or is removed from office.
Powers of the President
The Constitution gives the president many important powers. As chief executive, the
president appoints secretaries of the major departments that make up the presidents
cabinet. Today, there are 13 major departments in the executive branch: the
Department of State, Treasury, Defense, Justice, Interior, Agriculture, Commerce,
Labor, heath and Human Services, Housing and Urban Development, Transportation,
Energy and Education. As chief executive the president also appoints senior officials
of the many agencies in the expensive bureaucracy.
As head of state, the president represents the country abroad, entertains foreign
leaders and addresses the public. As director of foreign policy, he appoints foreign
ambassadors and makes treaties with other nations. The president also serves as
commander-in-chief of the armed forces and as head of this policy party.
In the US, the president and legislature are elected separately, and they operate
separately. This division is a unique feature of the American system. In the
parliamentary systems that operate in most western democracies, the national leader
or prime minister is chosen by the parliament.
The third branch of the government is the judicial branch, which is headed by the
Supreme Court. Under the Supreme Court, there are many state and federal courts.
An important factor of the judicial branch is to determine whether laws of Congress or
actions of the president violate the Constitution. Within the judicial branch, authority is
divided between state and federal (national) courts. At the head of the judicial branch
is the Supreme Court (the highest federal courting the US, consisting of nine justices
and having jurisdiction over all other courts in the nation), the final interpreter of the
Constitution.

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State Courts
The Constitution recognizes that the states have certain rights and authorities beyond
the power of the federal government. States have the power to establish their own
systems of criminal and civil laws, with the result that each state has its own laws,
prisons, police force and state court. Within each state, there are also country and
city courts. Generally, state courts are quite similar, but in some areas there is a great
diversity.
Federal Courts
The separate system of federal courts, which operate alongside the state courts,
handles cases which arise under the US Constitution or under any law or treaty, as
well as any controversy to which the federal government is itself a party. Federal
courts also hear disputes involving governments or citizens of different states.
All federal judges are appointed for life.
Supreme Court
The Supreme curt hears cases in which someone claims that a lower court ruling is
unjust or in which someone claims that Constitutional law has been violated. Its
decisions are final. Although the Supreme Court does not have the power to make
laws; it does have the power to examine actions of the legislative, executive and
administrative institutions of the government and decide whether they are
constitutional.
The US government is so designed that, the authority of the judicial branch is
independent from other branches of government. Each of the nine Supreme Court
justices (judges) is appointed by the president and examined by the Senate to
determine whether he or she is qualified. Once approved a justice remains on the
Supreme Court for life.

Checks and Balances

The division of government power among three separate but equal branches
provides for a system of checks and balances. Each branch checks or limits the
power of the other branches. For example, although the Congress makes laws, the
president can veto them. Even if the president vetoes a law, Congress may check the
president by overriding his veto with a two-thirds vote.
The Supreme Court can overturn laws passed by Congress and signed by the
president. The selection of federal and Supreme Court judges is made by the other
two branches. The president appoints judges, but he Senate reviews his candidates
and has the power to reject his choices. With this system of checks and balances, no
branch of government has superior power.
Political Party System
The United States has had only two major parties throughout its history. When the
nation was founded, two political groupings emerged- the Federalists and Anti-
federalists. Since then, two major parties have alternated in power.
For over one hundred years, Americas two-party system has been dominated by the
Democratic and Republican Parties. Neither party, however, has ever completely
dominated American politics. On the national level, the majority party in congress has
not always been the same as the party of the president.
Even in years when one party dominated national politics, the other party retained
much support at state or local levels. Thus, the balance between the Democrats and
Republicans has shifted back and forth. The parties tend to be similar. Democrats
and Republicans support the same overall political and economic goals. Neither party
seeks to shake the foundation of Americas economy or social structure.

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 Democrats and Republicans often propose different means of achieving their similar
goals. Democrats generally believe that the federal government and state
governments should provide social and economic programs for those who need
them.

Education
Every American is entitled to an education. School attendance is compulsory for all
children. Students attend school five to seven hours a day, five days a week for nine
months each year, from September to June. Public education from kindergarten
through grade 12 is tax- supported; no tuition is required.
About 85 percent of American children attend public schools. The other 15 percent
choose to pay tuition to attend private schools. Most private schools are run by
religious organizations and generally include religious instruction.
Although Many American children attend daycare, nursery school or preschool,
formal education is usually considered to begin around the age of five when children
to kindergarten.
At six years of age children begin the first year of elementary school, which is called
grade 1 or first grade. At elementary school the emphasis is placed on the basic skills
(speaking, reading, writing and arithmetic)
Children move on to high school in the ninth grade, where they continue until twelfth
grade. There are two basic types of high school: one with a more academic
curriculum, preparing students for admission to college, and the other offering
primarily vocational education (training in a skill or trade). The local school board
decides which courses are compulsory. There is a great freedom of choice, however,
and an important figure in high schools is the guidance counselor, who advises the
students on what courses to take on the basis of their career choices and frequent
aptitude and ability tests.
In order to receive the high school diploma necessary in most states to get into
college, students must accumulate a minimum number of credits, which are warded
for the successful completion of each one-or half-year course. Students hoping to be
admitted to the more famous universities require far more the minimum number of
credits and must also have good grades (the mark given on the basis of course work
and a written examination) Extra-curricular activity (such as playing for one of the
schools sports teams) is also very important in the American school system and is
taken into consideration by colleges and employers.
Higher Education
There are about 3,000 colleges and universities, both private and public, in the United
States. They are all independent, offering their own choice of studies, setting their
own admission standards and deciding which students meet those standards. The
greater the prestige of the university, the higher the credits and grades required.
The term college and university are often used interchangeably, as college is
used to refer to all undergraduate education and the four-year undergraduate
programme, leading to a Bachelors degree, can be followed at either college or
university. Universities tend to be larger than colleges and also have graduate
schools where students can receive post-graduate education. Advanced or
graduate university degrees include law and medicine.
During the first two years the students usually follow general courses in the arts or
sciences and then choose a major (the subject or area of studies in which they
concentrate the other subjects are called minors). Credits with grades are
awarded for the successful completion of each course. These credits are often

30
 transferable, so students who have not done well in high school can choose a junior
college or community college, which offers a two-year transfer programme,
preparing students for degree-granting institutions. Community colleges also offer
two-year courses of a vocational nature, leading to technical and semi-professional
occupations, such as journalism.
The funding and hierarchy of the education system
The federal government provides some money and sets some standards foe
education through the Department of Education. But state and local governments
have direct control and are responsible for the majority of the cost of students
education from kindergarten to twelfth grade. Individual states have their own Boards
of Education, which decide the curriculum and what students must have achieved
before they can graduate from high school. States also set the general standards of
education and qualifications and teachers must have.
School boards have control over how schools in a particular school district are run.
The boards can be appointed or elected and are usually made up of local people,
often parents of children in the schools. A superintendent, the person in charge of all
the schools in a school district, is sometimes hired by the school board and
sometimes elected by local citizens.
The board and superintendent have a role in hiring principals and teachers for each
school. At the elementary and secondary levels, most school districts have a Parent-
Teacher Association (PTA), which gives all parents a chance to take part in making
decisions about how the school is run. Parents regularly visit schools for parents-
teacher conferences to meet their childrens teachers and discuss their progress.
Many volunteer in their childrens schools.

Holidays & Festivals

Many people spend New Years Day resting. Thats because theyve stayed up
most of the night, greeting the New Year! Some went to parties at friends homes or at
nightclubs. Others were out on the streets, throwing confetti and blowing
noisemakers. Many people make New Years resolutions.
In the 1950s and 1960s, Martin Luther King, Jr; led the civil rights movement- the
struggle for equal rights for black American. King was assassinated in 1968. Martin
Luther King, Jr Day, which falls in January, around Kings birthday, is a time to
celebrate the life and achievements of this great American.
Two other great Americans are honored on Presidents Day. George
Washington was the countrys first president. Abraham Lincoln brought the country
through the Civil War. Their birthdays are celebrated together.
Memorial Day honors American soldiers killed in war. There are many parades
on Memorial Day. Memorial Day, which comes on the last Monday in May, is also the
unofficial beginning of the summer vacation season. On Memorial Day, many people
go to the beach.
The most famous American holiday is the Fourth of July, or Independence Day.
On July 4, 1776, the American colonies declared their independence from Britain.
Labor Day honors the American worker. It falls on the first Monday in
September, marks the end of the summer. For many students, the school year starts
the day after Labor day
Columbus Day celebrates Christopher Columbuss arrival in the Americas in
1492. As Columbus was Italian, working for Spain, Columbus Day is an especially
important holiday for many Italian-Americans and Hispanic- Americans.

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 Although Halloween, on October 31, is not an official holiday, it is a very special
day. On Halloween children dress in costume as all kinds of things. The windows of
many houses have Halloween decorations. In the evening, the children go from
house to house, knocking on doors and saying trick or treat. The people in the
houses give the children candy or some other treat. If they dont, the children might
play a small trick on them!
In 1620 one of the first British settlements on America was established in
Massachusetts. These settlers known as Pilgrims, had come to America to freely
practice their religion. They arrived in November, when it was too late to plant crops.
Although many people died, the Pilgrim settlement survived the winter because of
help fro Indians who lived nearby. The Indians taught the Pilgrims about corn and
showed them where to fish. The Next November, after the crops were harvested, the
pilgrims gave thanks to God at a feast to which they invited the Indians. Every year,
Americans celebrate Thanksgiving. Families and friends get together for a big feast.
The meal usually includes roast turkey with stuffing and gravy, a sweet sauce made
from cranberries, sweet potatoes, and pumpkin pie.
Christmas, marking the birth of Christ in the Christian religion, is another time
when many families get together. Christmas is an important time for giving gifts. Many
families put up a Christmas tree and bake lots of special Christmas cookies.

Bibliography:

- Spotlight on the USA Randee Falk. Oxford University Press. 1993

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