Introduction
The United States of America is a country on the North American continent, located south of Canada and north of Mexico. Originally a collection of British colonies, America declared its independence from Britain on July 4th, 1776. When the first British settlers arrived in America, they continued to speak the same Early Modern English that they had spoken back home in England. This variation was very close to standard British English (Algeo, 2014). Over time, the geographically separate branches of American and British English developed differently. Consisting of 13 colonies at the time of independence, America added 37 states and numerous other territories throughout the 19th and 20th centuries. It is arguably the biggest political, economic, and military superpower in the world today.
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Geography
The United States encompasses an area of about 3,796,742 square miles. Of this mass, 264,836 square miles are comprised of bodies of water and the remaining 3,531,905 square miles are land mass. At this size, the U.S. is approximately half the size of Russia and twice the size of the European Union. Bordered on the north and south by Canada and Mexico, the U.S. is bordered on the east and west by the North Atlantic Ocean and the North Pacific Ocean respectively. The climate of the U.S. is mostly temperate but covers a wide range of differences throughout different regions: from tropical climate in Hawaii and Florida to an arctic climate in Alaska. The center of the country is mostly comprised of vast plains, giving way to mountains in the west and hills and low mountains in the east.
Economy
The United States has a per capita Gross Domestic Product of $59,500. The U.S. economy is the most technologically powerful economy in the world, with many of its tech industries in the forefront of technological development and innovation. The U.S. economy had been the largest in the world for more than a century until it was eclipsed by China's economy in 2014.
The US economy is a capitalist system in which private corporations and individuals make most of the economic decisions. America has less restrictions and regulations regarding business practices than places like Western Europe or Japan do. This allows American businesses to enjoy greater freedom in developing new products or expanding production, as well as greater freedom in laying off their employees and outsourcing labor to cheaper countries such as China.
Problems affecting the US economy include wage stagnation for lower-income families, failing infrastructure, rising medical costs and budget deficits. These problems are the cause of continuing controversy and civil unrest in the form of protests such as “Occupy Wall Street,” a movement in which protesters claimed that the top 1% of earners were taking unfair advantage of the remaining 99%.
The US economy is a capitalist system in which private corporations and individuals make most of the economic decisions. America has less restrictions and regulations regarding business practices than places like Western Europe or Japan do. This allows American businesses to enjoy greater freedom in developing new products or expanding production, as well as greater freedom in laying off their employees and outsourcing labor to cheaper countries such as China.
Problems affecting the US economy include wage stagnation for lower-income families, failing infrastructure, rising medical costs and budget deficits. These problems are the cause of continuing controversy and civil unrest in the form of protests such as “Occupy Wall Street,” a movement in which protesters claimed that the top 1% of earners were taking unfair advantage of the remaining 99%.
Government
The United States Chief of State or Head of Government is President Donald J. Trump who was elected in 2016. The United States is a constitutional federal republic with a bicameral Congress, which includes a Senate and the House of Representatives. The elected members of Congress write, debate, and pass laws which are sent to the president for approval. The US judiciary system revolves around the Supreme Court consisting of nine justices who decide on cases dealing with the interpretation of the US Constitution. The government capital is located in Washington, DC.
Population and Languages
The United States' population is comprised of over 329 million people. While the country has not declared an official language at the federal level, 32 out of 50 states have declared English as the official language at the state level. Hawaiian is an official language in the state of Hawaii, and there are 20 official indigenous languages in the state of Alaska. 78.2% of the American population only speak English in their homes, while 13.4% speak Spanish, 1.1% speak Chinese, and 7.3% speak other languages.
Religion
Several religions are practiced in the United States, but the most common of these is Protestantism with 46.5% of the American population identifying as such. There are other religions falling under the umbrella of Christianity that are practiced in America like Roman Catholicism, Judaism, and Mormonism (all account for about 25.2% of the population). Other religions practiced in the United States include Islam (0.9%), Jehovah's Witness (0.8%), Buddhism (0.7%), and Hinduism (0.7%). The remaining 23.4% of American's consider themselves unaffiliated.