USA AREA STUDIES OUTLINE:           CHAPTER 2

1A. THE GENERAL INFORMATION            (pages 9-11)

The USA           - is situated in the central and southern parts of the continent of North America. Includes the state of Alaska in the

northwest above Canada and the state of Hawaii in the southwest part of the Pacific Ocean.

US Coastlines              - along the east coast is the Atlantic Ocean; along the west coast is the Pacific Ocean; along the southeastern coast is  the Gulf of Mexico.

US Borders     - Canada to the north; Mexico to the south.

US Map          - the Rocky & Sierra Nevada Mountains to the west; the Appalachian Mountains to the east, the Prairies in the middle; the Mississippi Valley in the eastern lowlands.

5 Great Lakes             - are in the northeastern part; Lake Superior, Lake Huron, Lake Michigan, Lake Erie and Lake Ontario. They all are borders between the United States and Canada. The famous Salt Lake is in the western state of Utah.

Rivers              - the 3 largest rivers are the Mississippi, Missouri and the Ohio.

-          the longest rivers are the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers (7,330 kilometers).

-          Other rivers are the Columbia and Colorado in the west,  that run into the Pacific Ocean. The St. Lawrence  and Hudson Rivers in the east, that run into the Atlantic Ocean. The Yukon River is the largest river in Alaska. The Colorado River runs through the world famous Grand Canyon ( 349 km long, 1.6 km deep and 29 km wide) in Arizona. The Niagara River of the famous “Niagara Falls”, runs from Canada over a cliff of 27 meters into the state of New York. Niagara is an Indian word that means “roaring water”.

Climate            - the coldest is in the north; in Alaska, it is artic –140 F in the winter. The warmest are in the southwestern (Mojave

Desert is the hottest 135 F) and also in the southeastern states. The central part is continental climate (hot in summer, snow in winter).

The First          - inhabitants were the Indians and Eskimos of North America. Later came the explorers and settlers from Europe

and Africa.

Today              - people have immigrated from countries all around the world to live in the United States.

The official language is English.

A Federal Republic     - consisting of 50 states including Washington D.C., the nation’s capital city. (see page 216)

The US Constitution    - was adopted in 1787, that directs 3 major governing bodies; Executive, Legislative and Judicial. It also consist of “The Bill of Rights”. (see page 95)

The President             - elected for 4 years, must be 35 years old or older, lived in USA at least 14 years and born in the USA.

has the power to veto a bill adopted by Congress, proposes legislative programs, develop budgets, signs international treaties, is the Commander-In-Chief to the Armed Forces and makes the decision to begin military operations for Nation Security and World Peace. (George W. Bush, re-elected 2004-2008)

The President is joined with the Vice President (Mr. Channey) of the same political party.

-          upon the President’s death or disability , the Vice-President becomes the President for the remaining term.

The Cabinet                - consist of 13 “Heads of Departments”, appointed by the President an confirmed by the Senate.                 

The Congress             - consists of  2  Houses; the House of Representatives and the Senate.

The Senate                 - has 100 seats, two from each state (50), elected for 6 years, at least 30 years old, lived in the state at least 9

years. The Head of the Senate is the Vice President.

House of Representatives      - consists of 435 members, elected for 2 years, at least 25 years old, lived in the USA for at least 7 years.

The Head of the House of Representatives is the Speaker.

Each State (50)           - each of the 50 states, have their own constitution & government, also with 3 major governing bodies; the Executive (Governors), Legislative (Legislatures) and Judicial (Supreme courts).

            Population                   - 267 million. Official language is English (American).

Political Parties           - there are three major political parties are; Democrats, Republican and Independent, parties.

Leading the World       - in volume industrial production, scientific, technical and in the manufacturing industry.

 

B. Political System                (pages 11-14)

A Democracy              - The United States of America is a democracy. (see details in Unit 3 chapters 19-22, pages 87-100)

            Washington D.C.        - the nation’s capital city of the federal union of 50 states (see page 216).  Population of 3.9 million, 10th largest city.

July 4th, 1776              - the United States declared it’s independence from Great Britain (national holiday). The original states tried to keep their sovereignty within a loose confederation (that later ended in the Civil War), adopted a new constitution in 1789 that established a Federal Union and the end to slavery.

The Original 13 States            - were the first settlements on the east coast of America,  after the explorers from Europe. By the 1700’s the

majority of the 13 colonies were British there were also people from Scotland, Ireland and Wales. Other Europeans that settled were many Germans in Pennsylvania, Swedes in Delaware, the Dutch in New York and the French. Due to changes in government, economy and land not beneficial to the lower class, many went west into the frontier in search of freedom and riches.

The Present 50 States            - large areas of land were added by purchase, treaty and annexation (see map on page 35). First organized as

“territories”, years later, became states that entered the Union by petitioning the Congress for admission. There are now 50 states and each have a capital city  (see back cover and pages 35 &  216).

The State Government           - are under the Federal Government & Constitution and have their own State Government & Constitution with sovereign powers.  The “states” govern political subdivisions of counties, cities, towns and villages. Each state has a Governor in office, who is responsible for the authority of the state.

The Federal Government        - is divided into three major “Branches”; Executive, Legislative and Judicial. Each “branch” has it’s purpose & function and each are able to “Check and Balance” each other. (see graph on page 94)

-          Executive Branch consists of the President, Vice-President and Cabinet

-          Legislative Branch consists of the Senate and House of Representatives.

-          Judicial Branch consists of the Supreme & Federal Courts.

-          (read Chapter 20  THE BRANCHES OF POWER, pages 91-95)