THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
The United States, a great federal republic of North America, extends from the Gulf of Mexico to Canada and from the Atlantic to the Pacific, having an area of 3.020.000 square miles. Along the western border, near the seacoast are the Rocky Mountains, and in the east, nearly, parallel to the coast line, are the Appalachians. Between those two great ranges of mountains lies the valley of the Mississippi River a vast area of fertile agricultural land, devoted to the growing of wheat, corn, and other cereals, cotton, tobacco, sugar cane, sugar beets, vegetables of all kinds, and fruits in abundance. The country is extremely rich in deposits of minerals, such as gold, silver, copper, iron, zinc, and lead, and it also has great beds of coal and salt, extensive forests, and rich deposits of petroleum and natural gas. It ranks high as an industrial and agricultural nation because of its wealth of natural resources and the enterprising spirit of its people.
There are 48 states and two territories, together with the District of Columbia, in which is located Washington, the national capital. The executive power of the government is conferred on a President, elected for a term of four years. The federal legislative power is vested in the Congress, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. Each state likewise has its executive, in the person of a Governor, and a Legislature, or law-making body , the latter deliberating on state matters not under control of the federal government.
The population of the United States is more than 130 millions, much of which resulted from immigration during the closing decades of the nineteenth century.
But laws are now in force restricting immigration to a small percentage of the former annual influx.
In the sixteenth century, colonies of settlers appeared at various points along the eastern seaboard. By the beginning of the seventeenth century there were thirteen such colonies, composed for the greater part of British subjects. They were Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia.
On account of oppression and unjust taxes levied on them by the British government, the thirteen colonies rebelled, and 1775 saw the beginning of the Revolutionary War. In 1776, on July 4, the colonies proclaimed their independenceasa free nation, under the name of the United Stated of America, through the historic document know as the Declaration of Independence. The war came to an end in 1783, with the complete separation of the United States from the mother country. Its successful conclusion was due largely to the wisdom and courage of General George Washington and his staff, assisted by the Frenchmen Lafayette and Rochambeau.
By the treaty of September 3, 1783, Great Britain recognized the sovereignty of the United States. General Washington was chosen as the first president of the new republic and served two terms, from 1789 to 1797.
The nation grew rapidly and prospered, until the election of Lincoln in 1861. At that time negro slavery in the southern part of the country was widespread. The northern states believed the practice to be wrong and wished to see it suppressed. The division of opinion between the two sections became so marked that, in 1861, the southern states separated themselves from the union of states, resulting in a civil war, know as the War of Secession, that lasted for four years. It ended with the defeat of the seceding states, which had called themselves the Confederate States of America, and the triumph of the anti-slavery states of the North.
In the closing years of the nineteenth century, and as the result of a war with Spain, the United States came into possession, through a treaty, of the Philippine Islands and Porto Rico, thus adding about 720.000 square miles to its territory, including the Sandwich Islands or Hawaii, which was annexed to the United States in 1898 also.
Illiteracy in the United States is very low, due to the rigid enforcement of the laws making education compulsory. Each state supports free primary and secondary schools for the education of children between the ages of 6 and 16, and fines are imposed on the parents of children who are found on the streets during school hours.
Vaccination, inoculation against infectious diseases, and dental care are dispensed freely at public schools, which are equipped with up-to-date material. When a modern and hygienic building is seen in any humble village, it is not necessary to inquire what it is–it is the school house.
The habit of reading is as extensively developed among the masses as among the upper classes.
One of the great achievements of the country in the early years of the twentieth century was the construction of the Panama Canal, forming a waterway from the Atlantic to the Pacific.
The United States, a great federal republic of North America, extends from the Gulf of Mexico to Canada and from the Atlantic to the Pacific, having an area of 3.020.000 square miles. Along the western border, near the seacoast are the Rocky Mountains, and in the east, nearly, parallel to the coast line, are the Appalachians. Between those two great ranges of mountains lies the valley of the Mississippi River a vast area of fertile agricultural land, devoted to the growing of wheat, corn, and other cereals, cotton, tobacco, sugar cane, sugar beets, vegetables of all kinds, and fruits in abundance. The country is extremely rich in deposits of minerals, such as gold, silver, copper, iron, zinc, and lead, and it also has great beds of coal and salt, extensive forests, and rich deposits of petroleum and natural gas. It ranks high as an industrial and agricultural nation because of its wealth of natural resources and the enterprising spirit of its people.
There are 48 states and two territories, together with the District of Columbia, in which is located Washington, the national capital. The executive power of the government is conferred on a President, elected for a term of four years. The federal legislative power is vested in the Congress, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. Each state likewise has its executive, in the person of a Governor, and a Legislature, or law-making body , the latter deliberating on state matters not under control of the federal government.
The population of the United States is more than 130 millions, much of which resulted from immigration during the closing decades of the nineteenth century.
But laws are now in force restricting immigration to a small percentage of the former annual influx.
In the sixteenth century, colonies of settlers appeared at various points along the eastern seaboard. By the beginning of the seventeenth century there were thirteen such colonies, composed for the greater part of British subjects. They were Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia.
On account of oppression and unjust taxes levied on them by the British government, the thirteen colonies rebelled, and 1775 saw the beginning of the Revolutionary War. In 1776, on July 4, the colonies proclaimed their independenceasa free nation, under the name of the United Stated of America, through the historic document know as the Declaration of Independence. The war came to an end in 1783, with the complete separation of the United States from the mother country. Its successful conclusion was due largely to the wisdom and courage of General George Washington and his staff, assisted by the Frenchmen Lafayette and Rochambeau.
By the treaty of September 3, 1783, Great Britain recognized the sovereignty of the United States. General Washington was chosen as the first president of the new republic and served two terms, from 1789 to 1797.
The nation grew rapidly and prospered, until the election of Lincoln in 1861. At that time negro slavery in the southern part of the country was widespread. The northern states believed the practice to be wrong and wished to see it suppressed. The division of opinion between the two sections became so marked that, in 1861, the southern states separated themselves from the union of states, resulting in a civil war, know as the War of Secession, that lasted for four years. It ended with the defeat of the seceding states, which had called themselves the Confederate States of America, and the triumph of the anti-slavery states of the North.
In the closing years of the nineteenth century, and as the result of a war with Spain, the United States came into possession, through a treaty, of the Philippine Islands and Porto Rico, thus adding about 720.000 square miles to its territory, including the Sandwich Islands or Hawaii, which was annexed to the United States in 1898 also.
Illiteracy in the United States is very low, due to the rigid enforcement of the laws making education compulsory. Each state supports free primary and secondary schools for the education of children between the ages of 6 and 16, and fines are imposed on the parents of children who are found on the streets during school hours.
Vaccination, inoculation against infectious diseases, and dental care are dispensed freely at public schools, which are equipped with up-to-date material. When a modern and hygienic building is seen in any humble village, it is not necessary to inquire what it is–it is the school house.
The habit of reading is as extensively developed among the masses as among the upper classes.
One of the great achievements of the country in the early years of the twentieth century was the construction of the Panama Canal, forming a waterway from the Atlantic to the Pacific.
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