The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its forty-eight states and Washington, D.C., the capital district, lie between the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, bordered by Canada to the north and Mexico to the south. The state of Alaska is in the northwest of the continent, with Canada to its east and Russia to the west across the Bering Strait, and the state of Hawaii is in the mid-Pacific.
At 3.79 million square miles (9.83 million km²) and with over 300 million people, the United States is the third or fourth largest country by total area, and third largest by land area and by population. The United States is one of the world's most ethnically diverse nations, the product of large-scale immigration from many countries. The U.S. economy is the largest national economy in the world, with a nominal 2006 gross domestic product (GDP) of more than US$13 trillion (over 19% of the world total based on purchasing power parity).
The nation was founded by thirteen colonies from Great Britain located along the Atlantic seaboard. Proclaiming themselves "States," they issued the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. The rebellious states defeated Great Britain in the American Revolution. A federal convention adopted the current United States Constitution on September 17, 1787; its ratification the following year made the states part of a single republic. The Bill of Rights, comprising ten constitutional amendments, was ratified in 1791.
The United States is probably the most culturally diverse country in the world. This is due in part to its extensive land mass (though it covers far less time zones than Russia for example) and its varying climate, but is especially due to its founding principles of welcoming in immigrants from around the world (now in abeyance, due to a population in excess of 300 million including 12 million unauthorized migrants) giving it an ethnically diverse composition (in terms of origin, culture, race and language), and by promoting personal freedoms within a consistent legal framework. Though the common language of English (stress Americanised) and increasingly Spanish (via immigration both legal and illegal from Mexico and beyond) are a binding force between the States, it is the legal and political process that makes the USA a single entity. That said, due to the incredible ethnic diversity of its population it is full of cultural and culinary interests beyond Hollywood and the hamburger.
As the USA is so large it will take many visits to see its varied sites, but some areas that deserve your attention include;
- New York, with its Sky Scrapers, Central Park, Museums and shopping.
- Washington DC for The White House, The Senate, Arlington Cemetery, Air and Space Museum.
- Anywhere in Florida (Miami and Key West for example. Make sure you try eating legally farmed Alligator!).
- New Orleans (The Jazz! The food! The voodoo!).
- Las Vegas, even if you don’t enjoy gambling it is worth visiting briefly just for the sheer spectacle.
- San Francisco with its Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz and China Town.
- National Parks such as the Grand Canyon, Yosemite, Zion, Monument Valley, Death Valley, The Rockies and the Appellations.
more to come...
Other Links
Christopher Columbus (bt. August and October 1451 – May 20, 1506)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christopher_Columbus
United States Declaration of Independence by the United States of America in Congress Assembled
The Declaration of Independence is the document in which the Thirteen Colonies declared themselves independent of the Kingdom of Great Britain and explained their justifications for doing so. It was ratified by the Continental Congress on July 4, 1776. This anniversary is celebrated as Independence Day in the United States. The handwritten copy signed by the delegates to the Congress is on display in the National Archives in Washington, D.C. — Excerpted from United States Declaration of Independence on Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. (July 4, 1776)
http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/United_States_Declaration_of_Independence
George Washington (February 22, 1732 – December 14, 1799)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Washington
George Washington's Farewell Address (September 19, 1796)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Washington%27s_Farewell_Address
Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abraham_Lincoln
American Civial War (1861-1865)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Civil_War
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain 1884/1885
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adventures_of_Huckleberry_Finn
The Great Gatsby by the F. Scott Fitzgerald (1925)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Great_Gatsby
The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger (1951)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Catcher_in_the_Rye
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee (1960)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/To_Kill_a_Mockingbird
In Cold Blood by Truman Capote (1966)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In_cold_blood
More to come...