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 Salient Points On America

The United States is a varied land ƛ of

forests, deserts, mountains, high flat lands
and fertile plains.

A jet plane crosses the continental United

States from east to west in about five to six
hours.
 Salient Points On America

The US has long been known as a Ơmelting potơ

because many of its people are descendents of settlers
who came from all over the world.

The American people are always on the move ƛ from one

part of the country to another, from one city to another.

Today three out of four Americans live in towns, cities or

suburbs : over 57 million live in rural areas.
 Salient Points On America

New York City is Americaƞs largest city.

Each city has a downtown and suburbs.

Downtown is where the largely affluent and yuppie

crowd stays. It is more expensive than living in the
suburbs though the suburbs have large
bungalows.
Salient Points On America

New York City is Americaƞs largest city.

Chicago is the second largest city, Los

Angeles is third, and Philadelphia is the
fourth largest.
Salient Points On America

The nations capital, Washington D.C is

seventeenth in population. Specially planned
and built as a national capital, Washington
was laid out by a French architect in the 18th
century.
A city of great beauty and a center of world
affairs, it is becoming a leading cultural
center.
 Salient Points On America
Living Standards :
Americans spend money freely and make
purchases on credit when necessary to buy things
they want. Most pay off these debts on a regular
monthly basis.
The buying habits of Americans have changed in
recent years. Since World War II, the demand for
household goods has slowed down. More money is
being spent on education, medical care, services,
travel and recreation while a smaller percentage of
income goes for food, clothing and automobiles.
 Salient Points On America
Living Standards :

The majority of Americans live in apartments or

individual houses that have electric lights, central
heating, hot and cold running water and inside
toilets.

Because of the general rise in family incomes,

factory workers, owners of small businesses,
school teachers and sales personnel can be found
in the same suburban communities, in homes
very much alike.
 Salient Points On America
Education :
Americans take great pride in their schools and want their
children to have the best possible education.

Only one percent of the population cannot read or write.

New methods of instruction that encourage children to
develop their creative abilities are being devised and tested
in schools.

Today, there is a strong emphasis on science, mathematics

and foreign languages and an effort is being made to
broaden the studentsƞ knowledge of other people and
cultures.
 Salient Points On America
Education :

Today, about half of the young people who

graduate from secondary school go to
colleges or universities.

The Americans popularly refer to even

colleges as Schools. And instead of class or
division they call it Level or Grade.
 Salient Points On America
Youth :

Young people in America have a wide variety of interests

apart from their school curriculum.

Schools offer a wide range of activities. Apart from that

most houses at least have a basket ball court.

Also, most parks have tennis/squash/golf facilites and

taking--up a sport in US is very easy.
taking

Many young people hold part-

part-time jobs after school hours.
Thousands earn money delivering newspapers or being
baby sitters.
 Salient Points on America

Youth :

Majority of young Americans at the age of

18 get a car to drive which could be second
hand.

The loan systems are very comfortable for

people to buy homes and cars at an early
age.
 National Celebrations

Americans share three national holidays with many countries:

Easter Sunday, Christmas Day, and New Yearƞs Day.

Easter, which falls on a spring Sunday that varies from year to

year, celebrates the Christian belief in the resurrection of Jesus
Christ. For Christians, Easter is a day of religious services and a
family gathering. Many Americans follow old traditions of
coloring hard-
hard-boiled eggs and giving children baskets of candy.
On the next day, Easter Monday, the president of United States
holds an annual Easter egg hunt on the White House lawn for
young children.
 National Celebrations ƦƦ

Christmas Day, December 25, is another christian holiday; it

marks the birth of Christ. Decorating houses and yards with lights,
putting up Christmas trees, giving gifts, and sending greeting
cards have become traditions even for many non-non-Christian
Americans.

New Yearƞs Day, of course, is January 1. The celebration of this

holiday begins the night before when Americans gather to wish
each other a happy and prosperous new year.


   

 Political Parties And Elections ƦƦ
Americans regularly exercise their democratic rights by voting
in elections and by participation in political parties and
election campaigns.

Today, there are two major political parties in the United

States, the Democratic and the Republican. The Democratic
Party evolved from the party of Thomas Jefferson, formed
before 1800.

The Republican Party was established in the 1850s by

Abraham Lincoln and others who opposed the expansion of
salary into new states then being admitted to the Union.
 Political Parties And Elections
ƦƦ
The Democratic Party is considered to be the more
conservative of the two. Democrats generally believe that
government has an obligation to provide social and
economic programs for those who need them.

Republicans are not necessarily opposed to such programs

but
believe they are too costly to taxpayers. Republicans put
more
emphasis in the belief that a strong private sector makes
citizens less dependent on government.
 The American Economic
System
The United States declared its independence in the year 1776, the
same year that Scottish economist Adam Smith wrote The Wealth
Of Nations, a book that has had an enormous influence on
American economic development.

Like many other thinkers, Smith believed that in a capitalist

system people are naturally selfish and are moved to engage in
manufacturing and trade in order to gain wealth and power.
Smithƞs originality was to argue that such activity is beneficial
because it leads to increased production and sharpens
competition.
 Political Parties And Elections ƦƦ

As a result, goods circulate more widely and at lower prices, jobs

are created, and wealth is spread. Though people may act from
the narrow desire to enrich themselves, Smith argued, Ơan
invisible handơ guides them to enrich and improve whole of
society.

Most Americans believe that the rise of their nation as a great

economic power could not have occurred under any other system
except capitalism, also known as free enterprise after a corollary
to Smithƞs thinking: that government should interfere in
commerce as little as possible.
 The Stock Market
Very early in American history, people saw that they could
make money by lending it to those who wanted to start or expand
a business. To this day, small American entrepreneurs usually
borrow the money they need from friends, relatives, or banks.
Larger businesses, however, are more likely to acquire cash
by selling stocks or bonds to unrelated parties. These transactions
usually take place through a stock exchange, or stock market.
Europeans established the first stock exchange in Antwerp,
Belgium, in 1531. Brought to the United States in 1792, the
institution of the stock market flourished, especially at the New
York Stock Exchange, located in the Wall Street area of New York
City, the nationƞs financial hub.
 Newspapers
The top five daily newspapers by circulation in 1995 were the
Wall Street Journal(1,823,207), USA Today (1,570,624), the
New York Times(1,170,869), the Los Angeles Times
(1,053,498), and the Washington Post (840,232). The
youngest of the top five, USA Today, was launched as a
national newspaper in 1982 after exhaustive research by the
Gannett chain. It relies on bold graphic design, color photos,
and brief articles to capture an audience of urban readers
interested in news" bitesơ rather than traditional, long stories.
 Magazines

Magazines on virtually any topic imaginable have

appeared, including Tennis, Trailer Life, and Model
Railroading, Other magazines have targeted
segments within their audience for special attention.
TV Guide, Time , and Newsweek, for example,
publish regional editions. Several magazines are
attempting to personalize the contents of each issue
according to an individual readerƞs interests.
 Television: Beyond The Big
Three
Three privately owned networks that offered free programming
financed by commercials - NBC, CBS, and ABC - controlled 90
percent of the TV market from the 1950s to the 1970s. In the
1980s the rapid spread of pay cable TV transmitted by satellite
undermined that privileged position. By 1994, almost 60 percent
of American households had subscribed to cable TV, and non-
non-
network programming was drawing more than 30 percent of
viewers. Among the new cable channels were several that show
movies 24 hours a day; Cable News Network, the creation of Ted
Turner, which broadcasts news around the clock, and MTV, which
shows music videos.
 Television: Beyond The Big Three
ƦƦ
In the meantime, a fourth major commercial network, Fox, has
come into being and challenged the big three networks; several
local TV stations have switched their affiliation from one of the big
three to the newcomer. Two more national network - WB and
UPN - have also come along, and the number of cable television
channels continues to expand.

There are 335 public television stations across the United States,
each of which is independent and serves its communityƞs
interests. But the stations are united by such national entities as
the Public Broadcasting Service, which supplies programming.
 STATE CAPITALS

Alabama - Montgomery
Alaska - Juneau
Arizona - Phoenix
Arkansas - Little Rock
California - Sacramento
Colorado - Denver
Florida - Tallahassee
Georgia - Atlanta
Hawaii - Honolulu
Idaho - Boise
Illinois - Springfield
Indiana - Indianapolis
Lowa - Des Moines
Kansas - Topeka
Kentucky ƛ Frankfort
Louisiana - Baton Rouge
Maine - Augusta
Maryland - Annapolis
Massachusetts - Boston
Michigan - Lansing
Minnesota - St. Paul
Mississippi ƛ Jackson
Missouri - Jefferson City
Montana - Helena
Nebraska - Lincoln
Nevada - Carson City
New Hampshire - Concord
New Jersey - Trenton
New Mexico - Santa Fe
New York - Albany
 STATE CAPITALS

New Carolina - Raleigh

North Dakota - Bismarck
Ohio - Columbus
Oklahoma - Oklahoma City
Oregon - Salem
Pennsylvania - Harrisburg
Rhode Island - Providence
South Carolina - Columbia
South Dakota ƛ Pierre
Tennessee - Nashville
Texas - Austin
Utah - Salt Lake City
Vermont - Montpelier
Virginia - Richmond
Washington - Olympia
West Virginia - Charleston
Wisconsin - Madison
Wyoming - Cheyenne
 


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