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The United States Of America (1)

The USA is the most powerful and highly developed country of the world. It is situated in the central part of the North American continent. Its western coast is washed by the Pacific Ocean and its eastern coast is washed by the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico. The USA is separated from Canada in the north by the 49th parallel and the Great Lakes, and from Mexico in the south by a line following the Rio Grande River and continuing across the highlands to the Pacific Ocean. The total area of the USA is over 9 million square kilometres. 
The continental part of the USA consists of the highland regions and two lowland regions. The highland regions are the Appalachia mountains in the east and the Cordillera in the west. 
Between the Cordillera and the Appalachian Montains are the central lowlands which are called the prairie, and eastern lowlands called the Mississi ppi valley. The principal rivers of the USA are the Mississippi, the longest river in the world (7,330 km) and the Hudson river. The climate of the USA differs greatly from one part of the country to another. The coldest climate is in the northern part, where there is heavy snow in winter and the temperature may go down to 40 degrees below zero. The south has a subtropical climate, with temperature as high as 49 degrees in summer. 
The population of the United States of America is about 250 million people, who are called Americans. Most of the people live in towns and the population of the countryside is becoming smaller and smaller. 
For many decades the USA has been the place where lots of people sought refuge from persecution for political or religious beliefs. That's why in America there are representatives of practically all racial and national groups. There are about 25 million Negroes in the country and a little over half a million Indians. 
The capital of the USA is Washington. It is situated in the District of Columbia. Washington is a beautiful administrative city with practically no industry. The USA is a highly developed industrial state. Its agriculture is also highly mechanized. There are coal-mines in the Cordillera Mountains, in the Kansas City region. Iron is mined near the Great Lakes. The USA has rich oil-fields in California, Texas and some other regions. It occupies one of the first places among the countries of the world for production of coal, iron and oil. 
The USA has a highly developed motor-ear industry. It would be no exaggeration to say that cars have become the symbol of American way of life. The vehicles produced at such companies as Ford and the General Motors are known world-wide. The motor-car industry is concentrated in and around Detroit. Ship-building is developed along the Atlantic coast and in San Francisco. The textile industry is to be found in the north-east and in the south of the country. 
The USA has a highly developed railway system. It also has the best network of roads in the world. They are called highways. The USA is a federal country of 50 states and the District of Columbia. The political life of the country has always been dominated by the two major parties: the Democratic party and the Republican party. At an election time they contest presidency and the majority of seats in the Congress. The Congress is the highest legislative body of the country. It consists of two chambers — the House of Representatives and the Senate. 
The President, elected by the whole nation for four years, is head of the state and the Government.

The USA.  Geographical Position. Climate. Rich Resources

The United States of America stretches from Atlantic Ocean across North America and far into the Pacific. Because of such a huge size of the country the climate differs from one part of the country to another. The coldest climate is in the northern part, where there is heavy snow in winter and the temperature may go down to 40 degrees below zero. The south has a subtropical climate, with temperature as high as 49 degrees in summer. 
The continental part of the USA consists of the highland regions and two lowland regions. The highland regions are the Appalachian mountains in the east and the Cordillera in the west. Between the Cordillera and the Appalachian mountains are the centre! lowlands which are called- the prairie, and eastern lowlands called the Mississippi valley. There are many mountains especially in the west and southwest. The Rocky mountains extend all the way from New Mexico to Alaska. Many rivers cross the country. The most important are the Mississippi, Missouri, Colorado, Sacramento. The main lakes in the USA are the Great Lakes in the north. The nation's natural advantages and resources are probably greater than those of any other area of equal size. The land is as varied as it huge. There are plains and mountains, grasslands and forests, sandy soil, clay and rich, dark loams. 
The mineral resources vary from precious gold and rare uranium to common lead and zinc. Coal, oil, iron, copper and other minerals are abundant. They form basis of modern industry.

The US Government

After its 200th birthday the United States of America still holds the leading position in the western world. A country that has inspired many names — "Land of Opportunity", "Meeting Pot", "God's Country" is still referred to as land of superlatives — "the richest", "the greatest", "the most". 
In size the United States is not the biggest. What makes the USA the leader of the western world is its economic, political and military dominance over other countries. 
The United States is a parliamentary republic. The Government is divided into 3 branches: legislative (the US Congress), executive (the President and his Administration) and judicial (the US Supreme Court). There are two main political parties in the USA: the Democratic (symbolize by a "donkey") and the Republican (symbolized by an "elephant"). The US president is both head of State and of government. He is elected for a 4-year term. The Supreme Court consists of Chief Justice and 8 Associate Justices who are appointed for life. The Supreme Court is supposed to decide whether a law of the Congress or an executive order of the President is "Constitutional or not".

The Higher Organs Of Power In The USA

By the US Constitution the government of the nation is entrusted to three separate authorities: the Executive, the Legislative and the Judicial. The executive power is vested in the President, who holds his office during the term of four years, and is elected together with the Vice-President. 
Among the duties and powers of the President listed by the Constitution are the following: the President is Commanderin-Chief of the armed forces, he makes treaties and appoints ambassadors to foreign powers as well as other high officers of the United States. Within his competence is also the responsibility for taking care that the laws be faithfully executed. From this one can see that the Constitution gives the President some measure of control of the military establishment, imposes upon him a responsibility for foreign policy and assigns to him the obligation to administer federal programmes. 
The administrative business of the nation is conducted by Secretaries who form the Cabinet. They are appointed by the President but their nomination must be confirmed by the Senate. The Cabinet is a kind of an advisory group to the President which has developed by custom rather than by the provisions of the Constitution. The Vice-President likewise participates in the cabinet meetings. The cabinet members are: the Secretary of State, the Secretary of the Treasury, the Secretary of Defense, the Attorney General, the Postmaster General, the Secretary of the Interior, the Secretary of Agriculture, the Secretary of Commerce, the Secretary of Labor, and the Secretaries of Health, Education and Welfare. As chief executive officer, the President can at his discretion remove any Secretary. 
The Executive Office of the President is represented by a group of agencies. First of all, these are: the White House Office, the Bureau of the Budget, the National Security Council, the Central Intelligence Agency, the Council of Economic Advisers, and the Office of Civil and Defense Mobilisation. These are not advisory bodies but the bodies which carry out administrative functions. 
The whole legislative power in the USA is vested in the Congress. There are two chambers in the US Congress: the Senate and the House of Representatives. Besides the legislative function the Senate is entrusted with the power of ratifying or rejecting all treaties made by the President.

The US Congress

The Congress of the United States is composed of two houses: the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Senate represents the states. Each state is guaranted at least one representative in the House. The remainder are apportioned among the states according to their population. The Senate of US is composed of one hundred members — two being elected from each state. Senators are chosen for six years, one-third retiring or seeking is re-elected every two years. 
Two senators from the same state never finish their terms at the same time, one of them is called "Senior Senator" and the other — "Junior Senator". 
The presiding officer of the Senate is the Vice-President of the United States. The Vice-President is not a member of the chamber over which he presides and he sometimes is not a member of the party in power. The work of the US Congress is done mostly in different committees. The most important of the Senate committees are Appropriations Foreign Relations, Finance, Armed Services. 
In the House of Representatives the most important are Rules, Appropriations, Ways and Means, Judiciary, Agriculture. The chairmen of the standing committees are considered the real rulers of the Senate and the House of Representatives.

Elections In The USA

The US Constitution includes some general provisions on the franchise. It sets forth certain requirements for candidates running for a post of a president, vice-president, senator or member of the House of Representatives. Requirements usually concern age, residence and citizenship. The candidates who meet all these requirements are considered eligible for office. 
A residence qualification requires a permanent residence of an individual in order to get the right to vote. The duration of the residence qualification is, in general, a few months though it may substantially vary from state to state. Besides, some states have the so-called literacy qualification (the voter should be able to read and speak English, he (she) must know how to interpret the US Constitution, etc.).

And at last it should be mentioned that in some states a poll tax is levied upon everyone who votes and this certainly discourages poor citizens and Negroes from voting. In this context, it is not surprising that not all the Americans participate in elections, including congressional or presidential elections. 
The voters are registered by clerks of counties or towns and by local election commissions. When registering, the voter must produce an identification card. This is done to prevent fraud.

The administration of elections is vested in an election commission which ordinarily is composed of two commissioners, one representing each of the major parties, and a third ex officio member, usually a sheriff, a county judge, or a clerk. 
Prior to holding primary or general election, the commission appoints election officers for each precinct and also arranges for polling places. After the ballots have been cast, they are counted and the results obtained are tabulated and returned to the election commission which officially counts the precinct tally sheets.

George Washington

George Washington (1732—1799) won a lasting place in American History as the "Father of our Country". For nearly twenty years he guided his country much as a father cares for a growing child. Washington lived an exciting life in exciting times. As a boy, he explored the wilderness. When he grew older, he helped the British fight the French and Indians. Many times he was nearly killed. As a general he suffered hardships with his troops in the cold winters. He lost many battles, but led the American Army to final 
victory. After he became President, he successfully solved many problems facing his country, Washington belonged to an old colonial family that believed in hard work, in public service and in worshipping God. 
George Washington was born in Westmoreland county, Virginia; on a farm, on February 22, 1732. His first American ancestor came to Virginia from England in 1657. Farming, land buying, trading, milling, and the iron industry were the means by which the family rose in the world. George's father, Augustine, had four children by his first wife and six by his second wife, Mary Ball, George's mother. 
Of George's early life little is known. His formal education was slight: no more than 7 or 8 years of school. Men, plantation life and the haunts of river, field and forest were his principal teachers. His favourite subject was arithmetic. He studied enough history and geography to know something of the outside world. But he never learned very much about literature, foreign languages and history. 
At the age of 14 he began to work as a surveyor, making many trips into the wilderness areas of Virginia and Pennsylvania. His first military experience came in the French and Indian War (1754—1763), when he was sent on two missions deep into the Ohio county. In 1759 Washington retired and married Martha Dandridge, a rich widow. He became a loving stepfather to Martha's two children. He was a progressive farmer of that time. 
In 1760's the American colonists grew angrier and angrier at the taxes placed on them by Great Britain. In September 1771 the Continental Congress met, where Washington had his first chance to meet and talk with leaders of other colonies. The members were impressed with his judgment and military knowledge. He was sent to attend the Second Continental 
Congress (1775) where he was elected a commander-in-chief of the Continental Army. He proved himself a capable commander of the War of Independence. In 1787 Washington was chosen president of the Continental Convention and later elected first president of the republic (1789), followed by reelection (1792). 
George Washington died after an illness of two days on December 14, 1799. 
No other American has been honored more than Washington. The nation's capital, Washington D. C., was named after him. There the giant Washington Monument stands. The state of Washington is the only state named after President. Many cities, parks, streets, bridges, lakes, and schools bear his name. Washington's portrait appears on postage stamps, on the $1 bill, and on the quarter.

American Symbols

The American flag is often called "The Stars and Stripes", it is also called "Old Glory". It represents the growth of the nation. It has 13 horizontal stripes,? red and 6 white which stand for the original 13 states. In the top left hand corner there are 50 white stars on a blue background: one star for each state. 
The national anthem of the United States is "The Star Spangled Banner". The words written during the Anglo- American war of 1812—1814 and set to the music of an old song. Every state has its own flag, its own emblem and its own anthem too. The eagle became the national emblem of the country in 
1782. It has an olive branch (a symbol of peace) and arrows (a symbol of strength). You can see the eagle on the back of a dollar bill. The Statue of Liberty is the symbol of American democracy. 
It stands on Liberty Island in New York. It is one of the first things people see when they arrive in New York by sea. This National Monument was a present from France to the USA. France gave the statue to America in 1884 as a symbol of friendship. Liberty carries the torch of freedom — in her right hand. In her left hand she is holding a tablet with the inscription "July 4, 1776" — American Independence Day.

The Discovery Of America (1)

America was founded by Columbus in 1492. Columbus fled to this country because of persecution by Ferdinand and Isabella, who refused to believe the world was round. Before Columbus reached America he cried "Ceylon! Ceylon!" because he wanted to see India. When he arrived, he cried again. This time he cried "I have found it!" 
Columbus was mistaken in thinking he had reached India. There is still a great deal of confusion about the East and the West. As Columbus discovered, if you go west long enough you find yourself in the east and vice versa. In the New World most of the eastern half of the country is called the Middle West although it is known as the East by those who live in the Far West. Columbus, who was as confused as anybody who has been at sea for a long time, called the first people he saw "Indians". Accompanied by his followers, Columbus made several other voyages in search of India. Try as he might, however, he kept discovering America and finally returned to Spain to die.

The Discovery Of America (2)

Christopher Columbus discovered America in 1492. He was born in Italy. His father and both grandfathers were cloth makers. Columbus was a seaman and made many sea voyages. Most people in Columbus's days thought that the earth was flat and they did not believe that beyond the Atlantic Ocean lay India. In 1492 the King and the Queen of Spain gave him money to go to India. He decided to sail west as he was sure that our planet was round. There were 3 caravels: the Santa Maria, the Nina and the Pinta. After sailing 4000 miles he reached some land. The crew saw something like a white cliff and cried out: "Tierra! Tierra!". Columbus thought 'that it must be India but it was not. It was a new land — a new continent. It was America. Columbus named the land they had reached San Salvador ("Holy Saviour"). People began to speak about the land as "The new World". 
European people came to the New World for many reasons. Some hoped to find gold and silver. Priests and missionaries came to bring the Christian religion to the Indians. Among those who came for freedom was a small group of English people called Pilgrims. They wanted to start a new life and to have no religious problems they had in England. In 1620 on the ship "Mayflower" they landed in the north-east of America. They set up a colony and called that part of the country "New England".