Let's explore the USA

The United states of America

Liberty Statue of the USA

The flag of the USA is called “the stars and stripes’’. There are 13 stripes on the flag which show how many colonies formed the USA in 1776.The number of stars shows how many states there are in the USA today .

The Great Seal of the United States is the official emblem. It was adopted by the Continental Congress in 1782. The Great Seal has two sides and displays a number of important symbols.  The front (obverse) side of the seal displays the coat of arms of the United States

Between Two Oceans

The USA is the world’s fourth largest country. It is a vast country situated between two oceans, the Pacific and the Atlantic. In the north the USA borders on Canada, in the south - on Mexico. It also has a sea border with Russia. The highest mountains are the Rocky Mountains, the Cordilierra and the Sierra Nevada. The highest peak is Mount McKinley in Alaska. America’s largest rivers are the Mississipi, the Missouri, the Rio Grande and the Columbia.

The states

50 states

Louisiana

Alabama

Maine

Alaska

Arizona

Maryland

Arkansas

Michigan

Colorado

Minnesota

Mississippi

Connecticut

Delaware

Missouri

Montana

District Columbia

Nebraska

Florida

Nevada

Georgia

New Jersey

Hawaii

Idaho

New Mexico

Illinois

New York

Indiana

North Carolina

North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina

South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington Wyoming

West Virginia Wisconsin Kentucky Kansas New Hampshire Massachusetts

How it began

On a fine autumn day the people of Plymouth, England, watched the white sails of a merchant’s ship go away. It was the Mayflower. Who were the passengers of this ship? They were young, those men and women, eager, brave and very human. They came from the town of Scrooby and had suffered very much for their religion (they were Puritans1 ). These people were ready to struggle for freedom, their religion and liberty of mind. It was a long journey into the unknown, but nobody could imagine how important for history it would be. The Atlantic crossing was not an easy one. After a long sea voyage, after meeting terrible storms the ship landed in Massachusetts in early November 1620. The settlers began to die of cold. Without the help of friendly Indians none of them would have lived till next spring. The fi rst winter in the new world was diffi cult for the Pilgrim Fathers. But when spring came, the Indians taught them how to grow food.

The colonists had much to be thankful for and a feast was planned. The Indians who were also invited to their feast brought deer and turkeys with them. Since then the fourth Thursday in November has been celebrated by the Americans as Thanksgiving Day.

Thanksgiving Day

Thanksgiving   is a national holiday in the United States, celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November. It originated as a harvest festival. Thanksgiving has been celebrated nationally on and off since 1789, with a proclamation by George Washington  after a request by Congress.

Traditional foods  are  a large part of  Thanksgiving  celebrations. Many families include the entire family in the food preparation. Traditional foods include turkey, stuffing, gravy, sweet potatoes, cornbread, mashed potatoes, and cranberry sauce. Many  people  serve pie for dessert at the end of the meal.

Constitution

The Constitution of the United States established America's national government and fundamental laws, and guaranteed certain basic rights for its citizens. It was signed on September 17, 1787, by delegates to the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia.

We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, ensure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

Independence Day

Independence Day  is a federal holiday in the United States commemorating the Decleration of Independence  of the United States on July 4,1776.The Continental  declared that the thirteen American colonies  were no longer subject  to the monarch of Britain  and were now united, free, and independent states. The Congress had voted to declare independence two days earlier, on July 2, but it was not declared until July 4.

Independence Day is commonly associated with fireworks, parades, barbecues, carnivals, fairs, picnics, concerts, 

Baseball games and political speeches  and ceremonies, in addition to various other public and private events celebrating the history, government, and traditions of the United States. Independence Day is the National Day of the United States.

‘ Displays of fireworks, such as these over the Washington Monument in 1986’

Martin Luther King

Martin Luther King hated violence since childhood. He struggled against it throughout his life. His dream was to see the black Americans integrated1 with their white compatriots. In 1964 he was awarded the Nobel Prize. He was the first to take a Negro child by the hand to the ’white’ school. His fi nest hour was in August 1963 when 200,000 black and white people gathered in Washington and listened to his famous speech “I have a dream” at the Lincoln Memorial. “I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: “We hold these truths to be self-evident; that all men are created equal.” I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slaveowners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood. I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the colour of their skin but by the content of their character.”

January 10, 1957 – April 4, 1968

Washington DC.

Cities like people have their faces. The city of Washington with its long wide avenues, shady streets, low buildings and crowds of governmental officials is unlike New York with its skyscrapers, noisy streets and the crazy pulse of a supercity. Washington is quite a young city. It was founded in 1796 in the District of Columbia on the Potomac river and since 1800 it has been the federal capital. Washington was named after the first US president George Washington. He selected the place for the city, and Pierre L’Enfant, a French engineer, designed it.

In the centre of the city on Capitol Hill you can see an impressive building. It is the

Capitol, the seat of the government. In this great building the Congress of the US meets

to discuss and make laws. This is the highest building in Washington. There is a law in Washington against building structures higher than the Capitol. That’s why you will not see skyscrapers in Washington.

At every corner, in every street and square in Washington you are reminded of American History: the War of Independence and the Civil War. Magnificent memorials are built in honour of three American presidents whose names are connected with these two great events.

The monument to Jefferson stands in West Potomac Park. It is a round stone structure in the middle of which stands a full length statue of Thomas Jefferson. On the walls of the monument you can read sentences from the Declaration of Independence.

The Lincoln Memorial consists of a big marble hall with a statue of Abraham Lincoln in a large armchair. On the walls you can read famous passages from his speeches. The Memorial overlooks a pool on the National Mall.

Not far from the Capitol is the library of Congress, the largest library in the States. It holds over 13 million books, including the personal papers of the US presidents. Between the Washington Monument and the Capitol on the National Mall another famous landmark of Washington, the Smithsonian museum group, is situated. It is the world’s largest museum complex with fourteen museums and the National Zoo. Among the most visited museums in this group is the National Air and Space Museum. The National Gallery of Art situated in Washington is one of world’s great art museums with rich collections of European and American works. If New York is the centre of finance, shopping and entertainment, New Orleans –the city of cotton and jazz, Boston – the centre of culture and learning, Chicago – of meat markets, cattle and blues, Washington is the city of government and administration.