The USA
The USA is a very big country. It lies between Canada and Mexico and between the Pacific and the Atlantic Oceans. There are 50 states in the US, including Alaska and Hawaii which are separated from the rest of the countries.
The USA is a federal republic. The head of state is the President who lives and works in the White House in Washington D.C. (District of Columbia).
Each state has its Governor and its laws. The flag of the USA is called “Stars and Stripes”: there are 50 stars (the fifty states today) and thirteen stripes (the first 13 states).
The first inhabitants of the USA came to America through Siberia and Alaska from Asia: they were ancestors of the Native Americans. In 1492, Christopher Columbus arrived in the Caribbean and thought he was in India: that’s why he called the Natives “Indians”.
The first settlers came from Europe nearly 70 years later. In the 17th Century, there were settlers from France, the Netherlands, Germany, Sweden and Great Britain. In the 18th Century, black African slaves were taken to work in the plantations.
The first 13 colonies wanted to be independent from the UK. This was the American Revolution. The colonies won the war and became independent. George Washington was the first president of the USA.
The first colonies were on the East Coast. Boston and New York City were the first big cities. Pioneers travelled west and conquered land from the Native Americans through wars and mass killings. Then the Natives were segregated into reservations. They were not considered American. For more than 30 years the US Army and the Natives fought each other, but the Natives lost their land.
In the 19th Century, gold was discovered in California. A lot of people from all over the world went to live in that place to work in the mines. In the South of the USA, there were big farms, and the owners used slaves in the plantations. The northern States were against slavery, so the states in the South wanted to be independent. There was a civil war. It lasted four years. The northern States won the war and slavery was abolished, but in the South racial segregation remained for many years.
Immigrants arrived to the USA from all over the world until the 20th Century. The American motto is E pluribus Unum: this means that many different nationalities formed one nation. The immigrants brought their national traditions in the USA and they were all mixed together in a multicultural nation. This is why the USA was called “the great melting pot”.
Questionnaire:
Where is the USA situated?
How many states are there?
Which states are separated from the rest of the Country?
What type of republic is the USA?
Who is the head of state?
Where does he live?
What is the capital of the USA?
Is it in one of the 50 states?
Who is a Governor?
What’s the name of the American flag?
Why is it called so?
Who were the first inhabitants of the USA?
Where did they come from?
Who discovered America?
Why did Indians have this name?
Where were the first settlers from?
Why did black African people arrive in the US?
What was the American Revolution?
Why was it fought?
Which were the first big cities?
Where did the pioneers travel to?
What happened to the Native Americans?
How long did they fight the US Army?
Where were they put?
What happened in California in the 19th Century?
What did the owners of the plantations in the South do?
Why was there a Civil War?
Who won the war?
What happened after the Civil War?
How were black people treated after the war?
What is the American motto?
What does it mean?
What is a “melting pot”?
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