美国政治经济文化

How big is the USA?
•The US is about half the size of Russia. •It is slightly larger than China, however.
Population
•307,212,123
(July 2009 est.)
Around 300 million
Religions in America
• Protestant 51%, • Roman Catholic 25%, • Mormon 1.7%, • Jewish 1.2%, • Muslim 0.6%, • Buddhism 0.7% • other 1.4%, • none or unaffiliated 16% (2008 est.)
The Thirteen Original Colonies
•The United States began as thirteen colonies/states.
The Thirteen Colonies
1. Massachusetts 2. New Hampshire 3. New York 4. Rhode Island 5. Connecticut 6. Pennsylvania 7. New Jersey 8. Delaware 9. Maryland 10. Virginia 11. North Carolina 12. South Carolina 13. Georgia
The Highest and Lowest
•highest point: Mount McKinley 6,194 m •lowest point: Death Valley -86 m
Who are the Americans?
• white 81.7%, • black 12.9%, • Asian 4.2%, • Amerindian & Alaska native 1%, • native Hawaiian & other Pacific islander 0.2% (2003 est.)
Background
•Britain's American colonies broke with the mother country in 1776 and were recognized as the new nation of the United States of America following the Treaty of Paris in 1783.
control the budget& can impeach the president
The congress Legislative,
the president can veto legislation
the president Executive
• • • the court Judicial
The Vice President (2nd highest leader)
• The vice president would become president if anything were to happen to the President. • When Presidents Lincoln, Garfield, McKinley, and Kennedy were assassinated their Vice Presidents became President. • When President Nixon resigned, his Vice President had resigned. Gerald R. Ford had not be elected Vice President, but had
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Languages
• English 82.1%, • Spanish 10.7%, • other Indo-European 3.8%, • Asian and Pacific island 2.7%, • other 0.7% (2000 census) note: Hawaiian is an official
A view of major cities
How many states are there?
•There are
(50) states that
fifty
make up the United States.
US Neighbors
•The United States is bordered by: •Canada to the north. •Mexico to the south.
The government has three branches.
(Executive, Legislative, and Judicial)
The Executive Branch
(President, Vice President, and the Cabinet )
Checks and balance
The United States of America – a melting pot
Part one
Geography
climate
Mountains in the east and west. The Great Plains in the center.
• Terrain:
• vast central plain, • mountains in west, • hills and low mountains in east; • Rugged崎岖的 mountains and broad river valleys in Alaska; • rugged, volcanic topography in Hawaii
language in the state of Hawaii.
A Date to Remember:
• Independence: •4 July 1776 •(from Great Britain) • National holiday: •Independence Day, •July 4, 1776
Ocean Borders
•To the east is the Atlantic Ocean (including the Gulf of Mexico). •To the west is the Pacific Ocean.
Size: The United States is the
•world's third-largest country by size (after Russia and Canada) and by population (after China and India).
President of the United States of America
(The Highest Leader)
•chief of state: President Barack Obama (since January 20, 2009) •NOTE - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
Background (continued) •The economy is marked by steady growth, low unemployment and inflation, and rapid advances in technology.
Geography - terrain
Background (continued) •Buoyed by victories in World Wars I and II and the end of the Cold War in 1991, the US remains the world's most powerful nation state.
Background (continued) •The two most traumatic experiences in the nation's history were the Civil War (1861-65) and the Great Depression of the 1930s.
“The Star Spangled Banner”
• is the name of the country’s national anthem (song).
A VERY BRIEF HISTORY INTRODUCTION
• The first “Americans” came to North America by crossing a land bridge from Asia thousands of years ago. •These people are called Native Americans today. (formerly known as
The Flag and a map of the United States
The Flag - Description
• 13 equal horizontal stripes of red (top and bottom) alternating with white; • there is a blue rectangle in the upper hoist-side corner bearing 50 small, white, five-pointed stars arranged in nine offset horizontal rows of six stars (top and bottom) alternating with rows of five stars;
The Flag is known as “Old Glory”. •The 50 stars represent the 50 states. •The 13 stripes represent the 13 original colonies. •The flag is known as Old Glory or the Stars and Stripes.
Who are the Americans? • note: a separate listing for Hispanic is not included because the US Census Bureau considers Hispanic to mean a person of Latin American descent (including persons of Cuban, Mexican, or Puerto Rican origin) living in the US who may be of any race or ethnic group (white, black, Asian, etc.)
Indians)
•Europeans came to this “New World” after Christopher Columbus “discovered” it in 1492. •The first permanent English settlement was Jamestown, Virginia (settled in 1607).
•vast central plain, mountains in west, hills and low mountains in east; rugged mountains and broad river valleys in Alaska; rugged, volcanic topography in Hawaii
Background (continued)
•During the 19th and 20th centuries, 37 new states were added to the original 13 as the nation expanded across the North American continent and acquired a number of overseas possessions.