Temele la examenul de limb englez.

temele se refer la UK i USA

1) Geographical background of USA & UK,
2) History...,
3) Eucational system...,
4) Political system...,
5) Mass-media...,
6) Holidays and customs...

1. Geographical background
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, or UK, is a sovereign state
located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. With a total area of approximately
243,610 square kilometres (94,060 sq mi), the UK occupies the major part of the British Isles[1]
archipelago and includes the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern one-sixth of the island of
Ireland and many smaller surrounding islands. The mainland areas lie between latitudes 49N
and 59N (the Shetland Islands reach to nearly 61N), and longitudes 8W to 2E. The Royal
Greenwich Observatory, in South East London, is the defining point of the Prime Meridian.
The UK lies between the North Atlantic and the North Sea, and comes within 35 km (22
mi) of the northwest coast of France, from which it is separated by the English Channel. It shares
a 360 km international land boundary with the Republic of Ireland. The Channel Tunnel bored
beneath the English Channel, now links the UK with France.
The British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies are covered in their own
respective articles, see below.
The total area of the United Kingdom is approximately 245,000 square kilometres
(94,600 sq mi), comprising the island of Great Britain, the northeastern one-sixth of the island of
Ireland (Northern Ireland) and many smaller islands. England is the largest country of the United
Kingdom, at 130,410 square kilometres (50,350 sq mi) accounting for just over half the total area
of the UK. Scotland at 78,772 square kilometres (30,410 sq mi),[2] is second largest, accounting
for about a third of the area of the UK. Wales and Northern Ireland are much smaller, covering
20,758 square kilometres (8,010 sq mi) and 14,160 square kilometres (5,470 sq mi) respectively.

2. America and british political system

INTRODUCTION
Elsewhere on this web site, I have outlined in some detail explanations of both the
American political system [click here] and the British political system [click here]. As someone
who is intensely interested in politics generally, and British and American politics most
especially, I am fascinated by the many differences between the political scenes on the two sides
of the Atlantic. Inevitably, I am oversimplifying somewhat, but the following differences strike
me as instructive.
THE CONSTITUTION
Perhaps the most fundamental difference between the American and British political
systems is the constitution - or the lack of one. The United States has a written constitution as

does the vast majority of nation states. The UK does not have a single document called the
constitution but instead its constitutional provisions are scattered over various Acts of
Parliament.
The American constitution is hard to change and, in current political circumstances,
perhaps impossible to change in any meaningful respect. The Equal Rights Amendment - which
sought to provide equal rights for women - failed and there has been no succesful amendment of
the US Constitution - except for one technical measure - since 1971. What for practical purposes
constitutes the British Constitution - various Acts of Parliament - can be changed by a simple
majority in the legislature. For instance, the current Coalition Government introduced fixed
terms for the House fo Commons by passing the necessary legislation.
In the United States, political discourse frequently makes reference to the constitution typically Republicans arguing that Democratic initiatives are 'unconstitutional'. Besides the fact
that the UK does not have a constitution as such, it is rare for British politicians to argue that the
actions or proposals of their opponents are illegal or ultra vires.
A defining feature of the American constitution is the strict separation of the powers of
the executive, the legislature and the judiciary. The British political system has no such formal
separation of the powers - indeed until recently one person was a member of all three arms of
government, since the Lord Chancellor was a member of the Cabinet (the executive), a member
of the House of Lords (the legislature) and the head of the legal system (the judiciary).
In the United States, because of the separation of the powers, no Cabinet member is
allowed to be a member of the Congress. In Britain, every Government Minister must be a
member of one of the two Houses of Parliament and, if he or she is not already in the Parliament,
he or she is made a peer.
THE EXECUTIVE
The most obvious - and certainly the most visible - of the differences between the
American and British political systems is that the USA is a presidential system, with the apex of
power in a directly-elected President, whereas the UK is a parliamentary system, with the Prime
Minister holding office and power only so long as he or she commands a majority of votes in the
House of Commons.
In theory then, the American President has much more power than the British Prime
Minister - he is the commander-in-chief and has the power to issue executive orders which have
the full force of law. However, the constitutional system of 'checks and balances' seriously
circumscribes the power of the US President who often finds it really difficult to push legislation
through Congress. By contrast, a British Prime Minister usually heads a government with a
majority of seats in the House of Commons and the ability to pass almost any legislation that he
wishes.
In the United States, the transition period between the election of a new president and
that person's inaugration is two and half months. In Britain, the changeover of Prime Ministers is
virtually immediate - within hours of the election result, one person leaves 10 Downing Street
and within the following hour the successor enters it.
In the US, government is highly partisan with the President appointing to the executive
colleagues who are almost exclusively from within his own party. In the UK, government is
normally equally partisan with all Ministers coming from the governing party but, in 2010,
exceptionally the Conservatives were required to go into a coalition with the Liberal Democrats
and grant them 17 ministerial positions.

In the United States, the incoming President and his aides make a total of around 7,000
political appointments. In Britain, the Prime Minister appoints around 100 members of the
Government and members of the Cabinet each appoint a couple of Special Advisers, so the total
number of political appointments is around 150.
In the United States, all the most senior appointments are subject to confirmation
hearings and votes in the Senate. In Britain, there is no procedural method of challenging the
appointment of a particular Minister although, in theory, the Opposition could move a vote of no
confidence in the appropriate House of Parliament.
In the USA, the Secretary of State is (arguably) the most senior member of the Cabinet
and in many countries would be known as the Foreign Secretary. In Britain, the political head of
each Government Department is called Secretary of State and so almost every member of the
Cabinet is a Secretary of State.
In the United States, the incoming President's inaugural address is a highly public and
prestigious affair. In Britain, the new Prime Minister simply sets out his or her vision for the
country in a speech to the House of Commons on the subject of the Queen's Speech which opens
the new session of Parliament.
In the United States, the President each year gives a high-profile 'State of the Union
Address'. In Britain, there is no equivalent occasion, the nearest event being the Prime Minister's
introduction to the Government's legislative intentions for the next year or so after the State
Opening of Parliament each session.
As a result of the separation of the powers, the US President does not attend or address
Congress except for the annual 'State of the Union Address'. Since there is no separation of the
powesr in the UK system, the Prime Minister is a member of one of the Houses of Parliament these days, invariably the House of Commons - and regularly addresses the Commons, most
notably once a week for Prime Minister's Question Time (PMQ). When the President addresses
Congress, he is given a respectful hearing. When the Prime Minister addresses Pariament, he is
barracked and interrupted and Prime Minister's Question Time in particular is a gladitorial affair.
THE LEGISLATURE
In the USA, both houses of the legislature - the Senate and the House of Representatives are directly elected. In the UK, the House of Commons is directly elected, but the House of
Lords is largely appointed (making it unique in the democratic world).
In the States, as a consequence of the separation of the powers, all legislation is
introduced by a member of Congress, so even the signature legislation attributed to President
Obama on healthcare reform was actually introduced by a Congressman (Democratic member of
the House of Representatives Charles Rangel). In total contrast, almost all legislation in Britain
is introduced by the Government with only a very small number of Bills - usually on social
issues with minimal implications for the public purse - introduced by individual Members of
Parliament (they are called Private Members' Bills).
Senate rules permit what is called a filibuster when a senator, or a series of senators, can
speak for as long as they wish and on any topic they choose, unless a supermajority of threefifths of the Senate (60 Senators, if all 100 seats are filled) brings debate to a close by invoking
what is called cloture (taken from the French term for closure). There is no such filibustering
provision in either House of the British Parliament.
THE JUDICIARY

In America, the Supreme Court is an intensely political institution - its members are
appointed by the President on a partisan basis and its decisions are often highly political and
highly controversial. By contrast, in Britain the Supreme Court is not appointed on a political
basis and, like all British courts, avoids making decisions which it regards as proper to
politicians and Parliament.
POLITICAL PARTIES
In the United States, the Democratic and Republican Parties absolutely dominate federal
and state elections with independents securing only small proportions of the vote. In the United
Kingdom, the two main political parties - Conservative and Labour - win a smaller and declining
share of the total vote, with a growing share being taken by the likes of the Liberal Democrat
Party and the UK Independence Party at national level and by the likes of the Scottish and Welsh
Nationalist Parties at the devolved level.
In American politics, the two main political parties are loose coalitions with individual
candidates or Congressmen adopting varying positions on many issues (although, in recent years,
the Tea Party movement has forced Republican politicians to proclaim more consistently
conservative positions). In British politics, all political parties have much tighter rein on the
policies promoted by candidates and the voting by elected representatives. (In the House of
Commons, each week a 'whip' is issued which sets out how the Member of Parliament should
vote on each major issue before the legislature that week).
The major parties in the USA have a large-scale congress every four years to choose their
candidate for the forthcoming presidential election and ostensibly determine the policy platform
of that candidate. All the political parties in the UK hold annual conferences where they debate
the policy positions to be adopted by the party, but these conferences do not choose the party
leader (which is done through a separate and broader process varying from party to party).
In illustrations and promotional material, the Democratic Party is often represented as a
donkey, while the Republican Party is featured as an elephant - symbols that date back to the
1870s. British political parties regularly change their symbols and very few electors have any
idea what they are.
ELECTIONS AND CAMPAIGNS
In the USA, the term of a President, Senator or Congressman is known precisely as four
years, six years and two years respectively and the dates of the elections are fixed. In the UK, the
term of members of the House of Commons - and therefore of the Government - is legally a
maximum of five years but traditionally a Prime Minister could call a general election whenever
he or she wished and it has been considered 'cowardly' to wait the full five years and so the
election has been more typically after around four years. However, the current Coalition
Government has enacted legislation to provide for a fixed five-year term except for special
circumstances.
Candidates for the Presidency, the Senate and the House of Representatives - plus a host
of other positions below federal level - in the US political system are chosen by a system of
primaries in which (usually) all registered Democratic and Republican voters participate in the
choice of the candidate for 'their' party in the main election. Britain does not have a system of
primaries and the selection of candidates is normally confined to actual members of the relevant
political party in the constituency in question.
The filling of vacancies varies between and within the two political systems. The US
Constitution states that special elections will be held to fill vacant Senate seats, but that state

legislatures may empower the governor of the state to fill the seat by an appointment between the
time that it becomes vacant and the time that the winner of the special election is certified. Most
states allow the governors to pick the replacement who serves until the next general election
when the voters decide who will serve the remainder of the term. Several states, however, require
that a special election be held with the governor certifying the winner as the Senate member. By
contrast, the Constitution requires that governors call special elections to fill a vacancy in the
House of Representatives. They are usually held within three-six months of a vacancy because
the entire election process must be followed: nominating conventions or primary elections plus a
general election. In the UK, vacancies in the House of Commons are filled by a by-election in
the relevant constituency which is usually held within three or four months. Since members of
the House of Lords were not elected in the first place, there is no by-election when a peer resigns
or dies.
The American general election effectively lasts almost two years, starting with the
declaration of candidates for the primaries. The British general election lasts around four weeks.
American elections depend on vast sums to purchase broadcasting time. Parties and
candidates in British elections cannot buy broadcasting time.
As a consequence of the Supreme Court decision in the Citizens United case, effectively
there are no limitations on expenditure in American political elections. There are statutory
limitations on expenditure for all elections in the UK.
In the States, almost 40 million television viewers watched the Convention speeches of
Barack Obama and Sarah Palin in 2008. No party conference speech in Britain would attract
more than a few million.
American presidential candidates have been taking part in televised debates since 1960.
British political leaders only agreed to televised debates for the first time in the General Election
of 2010.
The first televised debate between Barack Obama and Mitt Romney in 2012 attracted
almost 70 million viewers. Even allowing for the difference in population, the televised debates
between the British party leaders do not attract the same level of interest.
In an American presidential election, turnout is typically around 50% (although in the
2008 election it was over 60%) and, in the case of mid-term Congressional elections, turnout
typically falls to around 40%. In the UK, turnout in General Elections used to be around 75% but
more recently has fallen to around 60%.
In the USA, blue signifies states held by the Democratic Party, the more left-wing. In the
UK, blue identifies the Conservative Party, the more right-wing.
In the USA, red signifies states held by the Republican Party, the more right-wing. In the
UK, red identifies the Labour Party, the more left-wing.
In an American general election, the states that might go to one party or the other are
known as 'swing states'. In a British general election, constituencies that might go to one party or
another are called 'marginal constituencies' (where three parties are each in contention - which is
not unknown - it is called 'a three-way marginal').
American general elections are often so raw and vitriolic that candidates make spurious
claims about themselves or their opponents that need to be analysed for the truth and whole web
sites are devoted to fact checking. While British politicians are certainly not beyond exaggeration
or obfuscation, they are rarely guilty of the blatant truth-twisting that one sadly sees in the US.

STYLE OF POLITICS
In America, the term 'conservative' means really right-wing, especially on social issues.
In Britain the name 'Conservative' means mainstream right-wing, especially on economic issues.
In America, the term 'liberal' generally means quite left-wing. In Britain, the name
'Liberal' means broadly centrist.
In the States, it is considered necessary for a politician to emphasize their patriotism. In
Britain, it is assumed that anyone who wants to run for national office cares for his or her
country.
In the United States, the flag holds special place in the political heart of the nation,
people sing to it while placing a hand over their heart, and many people would like to make
burning it a criminal offence. In Britain the flag is rarely prominent at political events.
In the United States, since 9/11 most politicians wear a pin depicting the stars and stripes.
In Britain, no politician would wear a badge displaying the union jack.
So many political speeches in the US include the phrase "my fellow Americans". In
British political terminology, there is simply no equivalent phrase.
In the States, virtually every political speech seems to mention God, especially in the
final call "God bless America". In Britain, no politician mentions God and none would think of
inviting Him to show a special preference for his or her nation state.
In the US, politicians frequently refer to their position on social issues like abortion and
homosexuality. A British politician would think it unnecessary and inappropriate to talk about
such issues unless asked.
In the US, politicians constantly talk about the problems and the aspirations of the middle
class. In the UK, politicians tend to talk more about the needs of the working class. They mean
something similar but the language is different because the perceptions are different. In America,
the working class is seen as the poor and most citizens perceive themselves as middle-class or
aspiring to be so. In Britain, the middle-class is seen as a comfortable minority with the majority
of the population perceiving themselves as working class.
Although taxes are never popular, the issue of taxation is much more emotive in
American politics than in British (or European) politics and the terms of debate on taxation are
much more hostile. The United States was born in a revolt against paying taxes and many
Republicans are against any tax increases and believe that low taxation stimulates economic
growth, whereas many British (and European) politicians see taxation as a social instrument as
well as a fiscal one with the power to bring about redistribution in society.
American political speeches do not tend to make much use of facts and figures (those of
former President Clinton tend to be an exception) but appeal more to broad values which do not
lend themselves to quantification. Many British political speeches focus on practical issues and
use figures to highlight problems and make comparisons with the policies or the performance of
one's opponents.
In the States, there are currently some outstanding political speakers, led by Bill Clinton
and Barack Obama. In Britain, there is no politician who can be so inspirational, although Tony
Blair at his best came close (but he's gone).
In US political theory and discourse, there is a notion called 'American exceptionalism'.
There are several versions of this nebulous concept, perhaps the most common being that the
United States has a special 'superiority' in the world because of its history, size, wealth and

global dominance plus the 'sophistication' of its constitution and power of its values such as
individualism, innovation and entrepreneurship. Many American politicians refer to the USA
being "the greatest country on earth" or even "the greatest nation in history". Although Britain
fairly recently ruled over the largest empire in world history and has other claims to 'greatness' not least its political system and cultural reach - there is no concept in British political discourse
which compares to 'American exceptionalism'.
3. History[edit]
Main articles: History of England, History of Scotland, History of Wales, and History of
the United Kingdom
See also: Prehistoric Britain, Roman Britain, Medieval Britain (disambiguation), and
Early modern Britain
The island was first inhabited by people who crossed over the land bridge from the
European mainland. Traces of early humans have been found (at Boxgrove Quarry, Sussex) from
some 500,000 years ago[19] and modern humans from about 30,000 years ago. Until about
10,000 years ago, Great Britain was joined to Ireland, and as recently as 8,000 years ago it was
joined to the continent by a strip of low marsh to what is now Denmark and the Netherlands. In
Cheddar Gorge, near Bristol, the remains of animal species native to mainland Europe such as
antelopes, brown bears, and wild horses have been found alongside a human skeleton, 'Cheddar
Man', dated to about 7150 BC. Thus, animals and humans must have moved between mainland
Europe and Great Britain via a crossing.[20] Great Britain became an island at the end of the
Pleistocene ice age when sea levels rose due to isostatic depression of the crust and the melting
of glaciers.
Great Britain's Iron Age inhabitants are known as the Britons, a group speaking a Celtic
language. The Romans conquered most of the island (up to Hadrian's Wall, in northern England)
and this became the Ancient Roman province of Britannia. For 500 years after the Roman
Empire fell, the Britons of the south and east of the island were assimilated or displaced by
invading Germanic tribes (Angles, Saxons, and Jutes, often referred to collectively as AngloSaxons). At about the same time, Gaelic tribes from Ireland invaded the north-west, absorbing
both the Picts and Britons of northern Britain, eventually forming the Kingdom of Scotland in
the 9th century. The south-east of Scotland was colonised by the Angles and formed, until 1018,
a part of the Kingdom of Northumbria. Ultimately, the population of south-east Britain came to
be referred to, after the Angles, as the English people.
Germanic speakers referred to Britons as Welsh. This term eventually came to be applied
exclusively to the inhabitants of what is now Wales, but it also survives in names such as Wallace
and in the second syllable of Cornwall. Cymry, a name the Britons used to describe themselves,
is similarly restricted in modern Welsh to people from Wales, but also survives in English in the
place name of Cumbria. The Britons living in the areas now known as Wales, Cumbria and
Cornwall were not assimilated by the Germanic tribes, a fact reflected in the survival of Celtic
languages in these areas into more recent times.[21] At the time of the Germanic invasion of
Southern Britain, many Britons emigrated to the area now known as Brittany, where Breton, a
Celtic language closely related to Welsh and Cornish and descended from the language of the
emigrants, is still spoken. In the 9th century, a series of Danish assaults on northern English
kingdoms led to them coming under Danish control (an area known as the Danelaw). In the 10th
century, however, all the English kingdoms were unified under one ruler as the kingdom of
England when the last constituent kingdom, Northumbria, submitted to Edgar in 959. In 1066,

England was conquered by the Normans, who introduced a French ruling lite that was
eventually assimilated. Wales came under Anglo-Norman control in 1282, and was officially
annexed to England in the 16th century.
On 20 October 1604 King James, who had succeeded separately to the two thrones of
England and Scotland, proclaimed himself as "King of Great Brittaine, France and Ireland".[22]
When James died in 1625 and the Privy Council were drafting a proclamation, Thomas Erskine,
1st Earl of Kellie insisted that it use the phrase King of Great Britain which James had preferred
rather than King of Scotland and England or vice-versa.[23] While that title was also used by
many of his successors, England and Scotland each remained legally in existence as separate
countries with their own parliaments until 1707, when each parliament passed an Act of Union to
ratify the Treaty of Union that had been agreed the previous year. This had the effect of creating
a united kingdom, with a single, united parliament, from 1 May 1707. Though the Treaty of
Union referred to the new all-island state as the "United Kingdom of Great Britain", many regard
the term 'United Kingdom' as being descriptive of the union rather than part of its formal name
(which the Treaty stated was to be 'Great Britain' without further qualification.) Most reference
books, therefore, describe the all-island kingdom that existed between 1707 and 1800 as the
"Kingdom of Great Britain".
4. Media of the United States consist of several different types of communications
media: television, radio, cinema, newspapers, magazines, and Internet-based Web sites. The U.S.
also has a strong music industry. Many of the media are controlled by large for-profit
corporations who reap revenue from advertising, subscriptions, and sale of copyrighted material.
American media conglomerates tend to be leading global players, generating large revenues as
well as large opposition in many parts of the world. Further deregulation and convergence are
under way, leading to mega-mergers, further concentration of media ownership, and the
emergence of multinational media conglomerates. Critics allege that localism, local news and
other content at the community level, media spending and coverage of news, and diversity of
ownership and views have suffered as a result of these processes of media concentration.[1]
Theories to explain the success of such companies include reliance on certain policies of
the American federal government or a tendency to natural monopolies in the industry. See Media
bias in the United States.
The organisation Reporters Without Borders compiles and publishes an annual ranking of
countries based upon the organisation's assessment of their press freedom records. In 2011-12
United States was ranked 47th out of 179 countries, which was a setback from the preceding
year.[2]
Radio[edit]
Main article: Radio in the United States
American radio broadcasts in two bands: FM and AM. Some stations are only talk radio
featuring interviews and discussions while music radio stations broadcast one particular type of
music: Top 40, hip-hop, country, etc. Radio broadcast companies have become increasingly
consolidated in recent years. National Public Radio is the nation's primary public radio network,
but most radio stations are commercial and profit-oriented.
Talk radio as a political medium has also exploded in popularity during the 1990s, due to
the 1987 repeal of the Fairness Doctrine, which meant that stations no longer had to "balance"
their day by programming alternative points of view.[citation needed]

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC)in 1970 had limited the number of radio
station one person or company could own to 1 am and 1 FM locally and 7 am and 7 FM stations
nationally. See IBOC and HD Radio.
A new form of radio that is gaining popularity is satellite radio. The two biggest
subscriptions based radio services are Sirius Satellite Radio and XM Satellite Radio, which have
recently merged to form Sirius XM Radio. Unlike terrestrial radio music channels are
commercial free and other channels feature minimal commercials. Satellite radio also is not
regulated by the FCC.
Arbitron, a consumer research company, provides ratings (similar to the Nielsen ratings)
for national and local radio stations in the United States.
Television[edit]
Main article: Television in the United States
Ninety-nine percent of American households have at least one television and the majority
of households have more than one. The four major broadcasters in the U.S. are the National
Broadcasting Company (NBC), Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS), the American
Broadcasting Company (ABC) and Fox. Public television has a far smaller role than in most
other countries. However, a number of states, including West Virginia, Maryland, Kentucky, and
South Carolina, among others, do have state-owned public broadcasting authorities which
operate and fund all public television stations in their respective states. The income received
from the government is insufficient to cover expenses and stations also rely on corporate
sponsorships and viewer contributions.
Motion pictures[edit]
Main article: Cinema of the United States
In the 20th century, the motion picture industry rose to become one of the most successful
and powerful industries in the U.S. Along with other intellectual property industries, its relative
importance to the American economy has strengthened as the importance of manufacturing and
agriculture have decreased (due to globalization[citation needed]).
Newspapers[edit]
Main article: Newspapers in the United States
Newspapers have declined in their influence and penetration into American households
over the years. The U.S. does not have a national paper. The New York Times and The Wall
Street Journal are sold in most U.S. cities.[citation needed]
Although the Times' primary audience has always been the people of New York City, the
New York Times has gradually become the dominant national "newspaper of record." Apart from
its daily nationwide distribution, the term means that back issues are archived on microfilm by
every decent-sized public library in the nation, and the Times' articles are often cited by both
historians and judges as evidence that a major historical event occurred on a certain date. The
Los Angeles Times and the Wall Street Journal are also newspapers of record to a lesser extent.
Although USA Today has tried to establish itself as a national paper, it has been widely derided
by the academic world as the "McPaper" and is not subscribed to (let alone archived) by most
libraries.
Apart from the newspapers just mentioned, all major metropolitan areas have their own
local newspapers. Typically, a metropolitan area will support at most one or two major
newspapers, with many smaller publications targeted towards particular audiences. Although the
cost of publishing has increased over the years, the price of newspapers has generally remained

low, forcing newspapers to rely more on advertising revenue and on articles provided by a major
wire service, such as the Associated Press or Reuters, for their national and world coverage.
With very few exceptions, all the newspapers in the U.S. are privately owned, either by
large chains such as Gannett or McClatchy, which own dozens or even hundreds of newspapers;
by small chains that own a handful of papers; or in a situation that is increasingly rare, by
individuals or families.
Most general-purpose newspapers are either being printed one time a week, usually on
Thursday or Friday, or are printed daily. Weekly newspapers tend to have much smaller
circulation and are more prevalent in rural communities or small towns. Major cities often have
"alternative weeklies" to complement the mainstream daily paper(s), for example, New York
City's Village Voice or Los Angeles' L.A. Weekly, to name two of the best-known. Major cities
may also support a local business journal, trade papers relating to local industries, and papers for
local ethnic and social groups.
Probably due to competition from other media, the number of daily newspapers in the
U.S. has declined over the past half-century, according to Editor & Publisher, the trade journal of
American newspapers. In particular, the number of evening newspapers has fallen by almost onehalf since 1970, while the number of morning editions and Sunday editions has grown.
For comparison, in 1950, there were 1,772 daily papers (and 1,450 or about 70 percent
of them were evening papers) while in 2000, there were 1,480 daily papers (and 766or about
halfof them were evening papers.)
Daily newspaper circulation is also slowly declining in America, partly due to the neardemise of two-newspaper towns, as the weaker newspapers in most cities have folded:
1960 58.8 million
1970 62.1 million
1980 62.2 million
1990 62.3 million
2000 55.8 million
The primary source of newspaper income is advertising in the form of "classifieds" or
inserted advertising circulars rather than circulation income. However, since the late 1990s,
this revenue source has been directly challenged by Web sites like eBay (for sales of secondhand
items), Monster.com (jobs), and Craigslist (everything).
The largest newspapers (by circulation) in the United States are USA Today, The Wall
Street Journal, The New York Times and the Los Angeles Times.
See also: List of newspapers in the United States
Top Listing of Newspapers in the United States
Newspapers of United States of America
Magazines[edit]
See also: List of United States magazines
Thanks to the huge size of the English-speaking North American media market, the
United States has a large magazine industry with hundreds of magazines serving almost every
interest, as can be determined by glancing at any newsstand in any large American city. Most
magazines are owned by one of the large media conglomerates or by one of their smaller
regional brethren.
The U.S. has three leading weekly newsmagazines: Time, Newsweek and U.S. News and
World Report. Time and Newsweek are center-left while U.S. News and World Report tends to

be center-right. Time is well known for naming a "Person of the Year" each year, while U.S.
News publishes annual ratings of American colleges and universities.
The U.S. also has over a dozen major political magazines.
Finally, besides the hundreds of specialized magazines that serve the diverse interests and
hobbies of the American people, there are also dozens of magazines published by professional
organizations for their members, such as Communications of the ACM (for computer science
specialists) and the ABA Journal (for lawyers).
Internet[edit]
Main article: Internet in the United States
The Internet has provided a means for newspapers and other media organizations to
deliver news and, significantly, the means to look up old news. Some organizations only make
limited amounts of their output available for free, and charge for access to the rest. Other
organizations allow their archives to be freely browsed. It is possible that the latter type obtain
more influence, as they are true to the spirit of freedom of information by virtue of making it
free. Anyone who has followed external links only to be confronted with a pay to view banner,
might attest that the reputations of organizations that charge is not enhanced by their charging
policy, particularly when the same information is available from sources that don't charge.
The Internet, by means of making available such constantly growing news archives, is, in
effect, writing our history as it happens, at a level of detail never before known. While
proprietary archives are slowly exposed to the public after many decades, organizations that
maintain immediately updating resources have more control over what will be remembered by
the general public in the near future.
5. Federal holidays[edit]
Main article: Federal holidays in the United States
Federal holidays are designated by Congress in Title V of the United States Code (5
U.S.C. 6103). Federal holiday is a day off for federal employees, which also means that banks
and postal offices are closed. Most private companies and certain other businesses observe
federal holidays as well, or the big holidays. If a holiday falls on a Saturday it is celebrated the
preceding Friday; if a holiday falls on a Sunday it is celebrated the following Monday. Most, but
not all, states and most private businesses also observe a Sunday holiday on the following
Monday.
There is no generally accepted policy, however, on whether to observe a Saturday holiday
on the preceding Friday or the following Monday. Most states and private businesses may
observe on the preceding Friday, some may observe it on the following Monday, and some may
not observe the holiday at all in those years. In particular, banks that close on Saturdays do not
observe a holiday when it falls on Saturday.
Date

January 1

Official
Name

New Year's Day

Remarks
Celebrates beginning of the Gregorian
calendar year. Festivities include counting down to
midnight (12:00 AM) on the preceding night, New
Year's Eve, often with fireworks display and party.
The ball drop at Times Square in New York City has
become a national New Year's festivity. Traditional end
of Christmas and holiday season.[7]

Birthday of Dr.
Third Monday
Martin Luther King,
in January
Jr.

Honors Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Civil

Rights leader, who was actually born on January 15,
1929; combined with other holidays in several states.
Some cities and municipalities hold parades; and more
recently, the 1994 King Holiday and Service Act, which
was passed to encourage Americans to transform the
King Holiday into a day of citizen action volunteer
service, has gained in popularity (sometimes referred to
as a National Day of Service).

First January
20 following a
Inauguration Day
Presidential
election

Observed only by federal government

employees in Washington, D.C., and the border counties
of Maryland and Virginia to relieve congestion that
occurs with this major event. Swearing-in of President
of the United States and Vice President of the United
States. Celebrated every fourth year. Note: Takes place
on January 21 if the 20th is a Sunday (although the
President is still privately inaugurated on the 20th). If
Inauguration Day falls on a Saturday, the preceding
Friday is not a federal holiday.

Washington's
Third Monday
Birthday/Presidents'
in February
Day

Washington's Birthday was first declared a

federal holiday by an 1879 act of Congress.
The Uniform Holidays Act, 1968, shifted the date of the
commemoration of Washington's Birthday from
February 22 to the third Monday in February (between
February 15 and 21, meaning the observed holiday
never falls on Washington's actual birthday). Because of
this, combined with the fact that President Abraham
Lincoln's birthday falls on February 12, many people
now refer to this holiday as "Presidents' Day" and
consider it a day honoring all American presidents.
However, neither the Uniform Holidays Act nor any
subsequent law changed the name of the holiday from
Washington's Birthday to Presidents' Day.[8]

Last Monday in
Memorial Day
May

Honors the nation's war dead from the Civil War

onwards; marks the unofficial beginning of the summer
season. (traditionally May 30, shifted by the Uniform
Holidays Act 1968)

July 4

Independence Day

Celebrates the signing of the Declaration of

Independence from British rule, also called the Fourth
of July. Firework celebrations are held in many cities
throughout the nation.

Labor Day

Celebrates the achievements of workers and the

labor movement; marks the unofficial end of the
summer season.

First Monday
in September

Second
Monday in
October

November 11

Fourth
Thursday in
November

Columbus Day

Honors Christopher Columbus, traditional

discoverer of the Americas. In some areas it is also a
celebration of Italian culture and heritage. (traditionally
October 12)

Veterans Day

Honors all veterans of the United States armed

forces. It is observed on November 11 to recall the end
of World War I on that date in 1918 (major hostilities of
World War I were formally ended at the 11th hour of the
11th day of the 11th month of 1918 with the German
signing of the Armistice).

Thanksgiving Day

Traditionally celebrates the giving of thanks for

the autumn harvest. Traditionally includes the sharing of
a turkey dinner. Traditional start of the Christmas and
holiday season.

The most widely celebrated holiday of the

December 25 Christmas
Christian year, Christmas is observed as a
commemoration of the birth of Jesus of Nazareth.
Federal Holidays Calendars from the U.S. Office of Personnel Management.
Federal observances[edit]
The Congress has designated various United States federal observancesdays, weeks,
months, and other periods for the observance, commemoration, or recognition of events,
individuals, or other topics. These observances do not have the status of holidays in that federal
employees do not receive any days free from work for observances.
Public holidays in the United Kingdom
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Public holidays in the United Kingdom are the public holidays observed in some or all of
the countries of the United Kingdom. Most businesses and non-essential services are closed on
public holidays, although an increasing number of retail businesses (especially the larger ones)
do open on some of the public holidays
Like Denmark, the United Kingdom has no national day holiday marked and/or
celebrated. The lack of a formal founding date and no constitution may be the reason for the lack
of a national day.
Although there is no statutory right for workers to take paid leave on public holidays,
where paid leave is given (either because the business is closed or for other reasons), the public
holiday can count towards the minimum statutory holiday entitlement. Likewise, if you are
required to work on a public holiday, there is no statutory right to an enhanced pay rate nor to a
day off in lieu (alternative day off), although many employers do give either or both. Any rights
in this respect depend on the person's contract of employment.[1] The statutory minimum
holidays are currently 5.6 weeks a year (including any bank holidays or public holidays that are
taken. [2]
In England, Wales and Northern Ireland, public holidays are commonly referred to as
bank holidays, and the two terms are often used interchangeably, although strictly and legally
there is a difference. A government website describes the difference as follows:

Bank holidays are holidays when banks and many other businesses are closed for the day.
Public holidays are holidays which have been observed through custom and practice.
The latter are often referred to as "Common law holidays".[3][4][5][6]
Bank holidays may be declared in two ways:
by statute (Statutory holidays) - Holidays specifically listed in the Banking and Financial
Dealings Act 1971, Schedule 1.[7]
by Royal proclamation - This has been used for annual bank holidays created since 1971,
and is also used to move a bank holiday in a given year,[8] and to create extra one-off bank
holidays for special occasions.[9]
The distinction between public and bank holidays is discussed in more detail in the article
on Bank holidays.
In the rest of this article, the term "public holiday" is used to include all types of public
holidays mentioned above.
When a public holiday falls on a Saturday or Sunday, the holiday is normally postponed
to the next following working weekday, which is then referred to as a 'substitute public holiday'
or the date on which the public holiday is "observed".[10] This is normally the next following
Monday, but if that day is itself already a public holiday or a substitute public holiday, then it
may be the following Tuesday. Most commonly this happens when Christmas Day falls on a
Saturday or Sunday, in which case the following Monday will be a substitute public holiday for
Christmas Day, and the Tuesday will be a substitute holiday for Boxing Day; whereas if
Christmas Day falls on a Friday, then it will be observed on the Friday, but Boxing Day (falling
on the Saturday) will be observed on the following Monday. In this way, public holidays are not
'lost' on years when they coincide with weekends (which will already be a day off for many
people). (Note that, unlike the USA, where public holidays falling on a Saturday are sometimes
observed on the preceding Friday, British public holidays are always moved backwards, not
forwards.)
Increasingly, there are calls for public holidays on the patron saints' days in England,
Scotland and Wales (Northern Ireland already has St Patrick's Day as a holiday). An online
petition sent to the Prime Minister received 11,000 signatures for a public holiday in Wales on St.
David's Day; the Scottish Parliament has passed a bill creating a public holiday on St. Andrew's
Day although it must be taken in lieu of another public holiday;[11] campaigners in England are
calling for a bank holiday on St. George's Day; and in Cornwall, there are calls for a public
holiday on St. Piran's Day.[citation needed]
England, Northern Ireland and Wales[edit]
Date

Name

Notes
from 1974, by Royal proclamation annually[3][4][5][6]

1 January

New Year's Day

17 March

Northern Ireland only (this was not an officially

St. Patrick's Day recognised public holiday in Northern Ireland until the peace
process was signed and from thereon was recognised)

variable

Good Friday

Traditional Common law holiday[3][4][5][6]

Easter Monday

Statutory bank holiday, defined by name.[12]

1st Monday in May Day Bank

May
Holiday

from 1978, by Royal proclamation annually[3][4][5][6]

Last Monday

Statutory bank holiday from 1971,[12] following a trial

Spring Bank

in May

Holiday

12 July

Battle of the
Boyne
(Orangeman's
Day)[15]

Last Monday
in August

Late
Summer Bank
Holiday

25 December Christmas Day

26 or 27
December
(see Notes)

Boxing Day

Total

8 (England &
Wales)
10 (Northern
Ireland)

period from 1965 to 1970. Replaced Whit Monday, which

was formerly a public holiday whose date varied according
to the date of Easter.[12][13][14] The legislation does not specify
a name for the holiday, merely when it occurs.
Northern Ireland only
Statutory bank holiday from 1971,[12] following a trial
period from 1965 to 1970. Replaced the first Monday in
August (formerly commonly known as "August Bank
Holiday".[3][6][12] The legislation does not specify a name for
the holiday, merely when it occurs.
Traditional Common law holiday[3][4][5][6]
Statutory bank holiday. Legislation does not name the
holiday, but states that it falls on "26th December, if it be not
a Sunday. 27th December in a year in which 25th or 26th
December is a Sunday."[12]

Notes:
In 2011, there was a special holiday on Friday, 29 April, to celebrate the wedding of
Prince William and Catherine Middleton, thereby making the previous week a four-day week
because ofGood Friday, that week a three-day week because of Easter Monday and the following
week a four-day week because of May Day. Furthermore, the royal bank holiday falls in the
weeks that follow the usual two-week school Easter holiday.
In 2012, there was a special holiday on Tuesday, 5 June, to celebrate the Diamond Jubilee
of Elizabeth II. Therefore, to make it a four-day weekend, the Spring Bank Holiday that would
usually have occurred at the end of May was pushed back to Monday, 4 June 2012.

The history of the United States as covered in American schools and universities typically begins with
either Christopher Columbus's 1492 voyage to the Americas or with the prehistory of the Native peoples,
with the latter approach having become increasingly common in recent decades. [1]
Indigenous populations lived in what is now the United States before European colonists began to arrive,
mostly from England, after 1600. By the 1770s,thirteen British colonies contained two and a half million
people. They were prosperous and growing rapidly, and had developed their own autonomous political
and legal systems. The British Parliament asserted its authority over these colonies by imposing new
taxes, which the Americans insisted were unconstitutional because they were not represented in
Parliament. Growing conflicts turned into full-fledged war beginning in April 1775. On July 4, 1776, the
colonies declared independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain and became the United States of
America.
With major military and financial support from France and military leadership by General George
Washington, the Patriots won the Revolutionary War and peace came in 1783. During and after the war,
the 13 states were united under a weak federal government established by the Articles of Confederation.
When these proved unworkable, a new Constitution was adopted in 1789; it remains the basis of
the United States federal government, and later included a Bill of Rights. With Washington as the nation's
first president and Alexander Hamilton his chief advisor, a strong national government was created.
When Thomas Jefferson became president he purchased the Louisiana Territory from France, doubling
the size of American territorial holdings. A second and last war with Britain was fought in 1812. The main
result of that war was the end of European support for Native American (Indian) attacks on western
settlers.
Under the sponsorship of the Jeffersonian Democrats, and the Jacksonian Democrats, the nation
expanded to the Louisiana purchase and all the way to California and Oregon, and a quest for
inexpensive land for Yeoman farmers and slave owners who promoted, democracy and expansion, at the
cost of violence and a disdain for European culture. The expansion, under the rubric of Manifest
Destiny was a rejection of the advice of Whigs who wanted to deepen and modernize the economy and
society rather than merely expand the geography. Slavery of Africans was abolished in all the Northern
states by 1804, but it flourished in the Southern states because of heavy European demand for cotton.
Conflicts over the issue of slavery in the first half of the 19th century culminated in the American Civil
War, as eleven slave states seceded to found theConfederacy in 1861. With Republican
president Abraham Lincoln as the leader of the Union, the South was eventually defeated and, in
the Reconstruction era (186377), the United States ended slavery and extended legal and voting rights
to the Freedmen (African Americans who had been slaves). Reconstruction ended in 1877 and from the
1890s to the 1960s the system of Jim Crow (segregation) kept blacks in political, social and economic
inferiority. The entire South remained poor until the 2nd half of the 20th century, while the North and West
grew rapidly and prospered.
The United States became the leading industrial power at the turn of the 20th century due to an outburst
of entrepreneurship in the North and the arrival of millions of immigrant workers and farmers from Europe.
Dissatisfaction with corruption and traditional politics stimulated the Progressive movement from the
1890s to 1920s, which pushed for reforms and allowed for women's suffrage and the prohibition of
alcohol (the latter repealed in 1933). Initially neutral in World War I, the U.S. declared war on Germany in
1917, and funded the Allied victory the following year. After a prosperous decade in the 1920s, the Wall

Street Crash of 1929 marked the onset of the decade-long world-wide Great Depression.
Democrat Franklin D. Roosevelt became president and implemented his New Deal programs for relief,
recovery, and reform, defining modern American liberalism. After the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on
December 7, 1941, the United States entered World War II alongside the Allies and helped defeat Nazi
Germany in Europe and, with the detonation of newly-invented atomic bombs, Japan in the Far East.
The United States and the Soviet Union emerged as opposing superpowers after World War II and began
the Cold War, confronting one another indirectly in the arms race and Space Race. U.S. foreign policy
during the Cold War was built around the containment of Communism, and the country participated in the
wars in Korea and Vietnam to achieve this goal. Liberalism won numerous victories in the days of the
New Deal and again in the mid-1960s, especially in the success of the civil rights movement,
but conservatism made its comeback in the 1980s under Ronald Reagan. The Cold War ended when
the Soviet Union dissolved in 1991, leaving the United States the only superpower. As the 21st century
began, international conflict centered around the Middle Eastand heightened significantly following
the September 11 attacks and the War on Terrorism that was subsequently declared. The United States
experienced its worst economic recession since World War II in the late 2000s, which has been followed
by slower than usual rates of economic growth during the 2010s.
Media of the United Kingdom consist of several different types of communications
media: television, radio, newspapers, magazines, and Web sites. The country also has a strong music
industry. The United Kingdom has a diverse range of providers, the most prominent being the stateowned public service broadcaster, the BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation). The BBC's largest
competitors are ITV plc, which operates 11 of the 15 regional television broadcasters that make up the
ITV Network, and News Corporation, which holds a large stake in satellite broadcaster British Sky
Broadcasting and also operate a number of leading national newspapers. Regional media is covered by
local radio, television and print newspapers. Trinity Mirror operate 240 local and regional newspapers in
the United Kingdom, as well as national newspapers such as the Daily Mirror and the Sunday Mirror.