CIVILIZATION - From coast to coast

CIVILIZATION

From coast to coast

United Sates

The United States goes from Canada to Mexico and from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean.

The U.S. crosses four Time Zones (Eastern, Central, Mountain and Pacific); U.S.A. is a confederation of 50 states, and 1 federal district.

Two of the fifty states which form the confederation are separated from the mainland: Alaska is northwest of Canada; the Hawaii Island is in the North Pacific Ocean.

Mountains

The mountains reliefs are in Alaska; among them is Mount McKinley, the highest peak which is 6,190m high.

Three mountains chain run along west coast (Pacific coast):

v To the west mountain chain the Cost Range and Cascade Range, are situated along Pacific Ocean and the Sierra Nevada.

Between Coast Ranges and Sierra Nevada are situated the fertile volleys of California;

v Rocky Mountains (or Rockies) their main Range, called the Continental divide, separate the rivers go to the Atlantic west to Pacific;

v Appalachians are extending from Maine down to Alabama.

To the east of the Appalachians there is a coastal plain that in the northern states is covered by thick forests.

Lakes

American lakes are: Lake Superior, Lake Huron, Lake Michigan, Lake Eire and Lake Ontario.

It the worlds largest group of lakes.

They are on the Canadian border.

Another important lake whose water are salty; the name of the city (Salty lakes city) derives from the same lakes

Interior Plains

Between the Rockies and the Appalachians lies vast lowland: the Interior Plains.

It is divided into two parts: the eastern part, Central Lowland, is crossed by many rivers which make the soil very fertile.

The western part is Great Plains. Here the soil is covered by tough grass and is good for farming and for agriculture.

The Great Plains gradually raise becoming plateaus crossed by canyons, as the Grand Canyon of the Colorado River.

The regions of Utah, Nevada, Arizona and New Mexico are desert.

Death Valley is nearly 100m below sea level and is the hottest places on earth and the driest.

The Rivers

The rivers are very important, as a transportation route and a source of power and irrigation.

The main rivers into the Pacific Ocean are the Sacramento and the Columbia.

The Rio Grande is situated the U.S. and Mexico.

The Colorado is one of the longest rivers in the country, 7 American States have water and hydroelectric power.

The eastern rivers, the Atlantic Ocean are rather short;

Hudson (New York's river), the Potomac (Washington's river), and the Delaware.

The main river is Mississippi, its receive some tributaries, the chief of which is the Missouri; the Mississippi flows to the Gulf of Mexico. The Mississippi is most important river for transportation of the U.S. and today it still is the busiest inland waterway in the country. The Mississippi through Minneapolis, St. Louis and New Orleans.

THE CLIMATE

The Climate:

The U.S. is a vast country with a great variety of climatic conditions from the sub artic climate of Alaska to the subtropical climate of Hawaii and southern Florida.

The middle and northern Atlantic states, the Midwestern states and the Great Plains states have a continental climate.

Some Rocky Mountains areas have an alpine climate, while Nevada, Arizona and most of New Mexico have warm winters, very hot summers and little rainfall.

Along the coast of the Gulf of Mexico summers are warm and humid and winters are quite temperate thanks to the influence of the warm stream of air coming from the Gulf.

THE POLITICAL

The Constitution

The Constitution was written in 1787 by 55 delegates which among Washington and Benjamin Franklin in Philadelphia.

U.S. is a democratic country and a Presidential republic.

The Federal Government deals with foreign policy (immigration, commerce, and defense). On the local Governments (each State) has its own constitution and legislation independently on a number of matters.

The constitution was originally made up of only 7 articles regarding legislative, executive and judicial powers.

Later a bill of rights was written which is a series of amendments in favour of citizen's freedom.

The Congress

The Senate has 100 members, two each state are elected for 6-year.

The House of Representative has 435 members; each state has a number of representatives proportional to the size of its population.

The members depend on size and are elected for 2-year terms.

The Supreme Court

The Supreme Court has the judicial power; and there are 9 members, nominated by the president and accepted by the Senate.

The President

The President is the leader of executive power and so have many powers:

Ø He is the Head of the Federal Government, i.e. he choose the Minister with the Senate's approval;

Ø He nominate all major Washington officials and U.S. ambassadors, the Senate approve his decision;

Ø He forms a Cabinet which consisting of the main Departments, department of State, the Department of Treasury, Defense, Interior, Energy, education, etc.;

Ø He leads foreign policy with the secretary of State;

Ø He is the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces.

He can declare war, the last decision to be up to the Congress there are some condition to be president must: be born in the United States; be a U.S. citizen; have lived in the U.S. for at least 14 years. He is elected a period four-year can be re-elected only once.

The President loses his function power if he is accused of treason corruption or dishonest behavior. The President lives in the With House in Washington.

Major Political Parties

There are main of politic parties which have only a regional important: the Republican Party and the Democratic Party.

The Republicans are generally considered to be more conservative than the Democrats, however from state to State there are, for some difference it can happen that in one state to be more progressive and liberal than the democrats, this 2 political parties suite there policy to the different way of thinking of each state [if Republicans in a state like California wish to win votes they to be progressive in their thinking].

Convention

The election take place in 2 different periods: 6 month before the presidential election in November (between March on June), there are the primaries which are a selection in which citizen (voter) choose delegates for a national Convention.

During the summer the candidates who gets the most votes wins the nomination.

In November presidential election take place and citizens can vote too candidates.

American electoral campaigner is very expensive and makes a great use of mass-media.

Campaign

Each candidate for the Presidency has his own by Vice-President.

The Vice-President replaces the President in case of death, resignation or removal from office.

During the Campaign the Candidates tries to convince the people that he is best candidate, to do this they used the mass-media.

The new President assumes his function from 20th January with on official ceremony in which the President promises to be and fair honest President.