Does the United States have too many states?
Does the United States have too many states? There are no other federal republics which have this many first-level states, and there is a lot of federal money invested into many poor, less-populated states. - Quora Something went wrong. Wait a moment and try again.
Does the United States have a 'true democracy'?
The United States of America is not, in fact, a true democracy. In a democracy, the people are the government. Today, we elect people to run the government for us. The people we elect do not, for the most part, run the country in the interest of the people; they run it in the interest of themselves.
Does the United States need the UN?
Truth be told, we Americans badly need the UN to help provide a buffer between our interest in peace and the chaos that exists in a disparate, messy outside world. We also need the UN to do all kinds of dirty work — not least the peacekeeping in post-conflict situations we have no interest in, or will for, policing.
Does the United States of America still exist?
The US has become a Tower of Babel, a territory that has lost its identity and is disunited by the Identity Politics created by diversity and multiculturalism. Without unity there is no country. We hear much about America’s external empire—UK, Europe, Canada, Australia, Japan.
What is the capital of the United States?
The US is a republic composed of 50 states, a number of territories, and a district, Washington D .C, which is also the country's capital city.
When did the US gain independence?
The United States was formerly a British Colony and fully acquired its independence from Britain in 1776. After its independence, the US set out to acquire new territories, some of which were later admitted as states.
What is the judiciary?
The Judiciary. The judiciary of the United States is independent of influences from the Legislature and the Executive. It is made up of the Supreme Court, federal courts, other minority courts, and the organizations that support them. The judiciary is responsible for upholding, explaining, and applying laws. It is also responsible ...
How many members are in the Senate?
The Senate is composed of 100 members. Each of the 50 states elect two members to the Senate regardless of the geographical size or population. The senators are elected after every six years. Senate approves the president’s appointees by ensuring that the appointees are eligible to hold the office.
How many branches of government are there in the US?
The federal government of the US has three branches: the executive, the legislature, and the judiciary. The powers, roles, and limitations of the three branches are highlighted in the US constitution. The three branches of the government are as discussed below.
How many terms does the President have?
The president is limited to a maximum of two terms of four years each.
Who is the head of the federal government?
Federal Government. The president is the head of the federal government of the United States. However, each state forms its government for administration purposes. The powers of the state governments are exercised within restricted state boundaries.
What is the culture of the United States?
The culture of the United States of America is primarily of Western origin, but is influenced by a multicultural ethos that includes African, Native American, Asian, Pacific Island, and Latin American people and their cultures .
Where did the United States originate?
Origins, development, and spread. The Rocky Mountains, Lander's Peak (1863) by Albert Bierstadt, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City, New York. The European roots of the United States originate with the English settlers of colonial America during British rule.
Why is the cuisine of the United States so diverse?
The cuisine of the United States is extremely diverse, owing to the vastness of the continent, the relatively large population (1/3 of a billion people) and the number of native and immigrant influences. Mainstream American culinary arts are similar to those in other Western countries.
How many teams are there in the NFL?
The 32-team National Football League (NFL) is the most popular professional American football league. The National Football League differs from the other three major pro sports leagues in that each of its 32 teams plays one game a week over 17 weeks, for a total of 16 games with one bye week for each team.
Why do people use names?
Creativity has also long been a part of American naming traditions and names have been used to express personality, cultural identity, and values. Naming trends vary by race, geographic area, and socioeconomic status. African-Americans, for instance, have developed a very distinct naming culture. Both religious names and those inspired by popular culture are common.
Is American culture a myth?
The flexibility of U.S. culture and its highly symbolic nature lead some researchers to categorize American culture as a mythic identity. The United States has traditionally been thought of as a melting pot, with immigrants contributing to but eventually assimilating with mainstream American culture.
Is English the official language of the United States?
Although the United States has no official language at the federal level, 28 states have passed legislation making English the official language, and it is considered to be the de facto national language. According to the 2000 U.S. Census, more than 97% of Americans can speak English well, and for 81%, it is the only language spoken at home. The national dialect is known as American English, which itself consists of numerous regional dialects, but has some shared unifying features that distinguish it from other national varieties of English. There are four large dialect regions in the United States—the North, the Midland, the South, and the West —and several smaller dialects such as those of New York City, Philadelphia, and Boston. A standard dialect called " General American " (analogous in some respects to the received pronunciation elsewhere in the English-speaking world ), lacking the distinctive noticeable features of any particular region, is believed by some to exist as well; it is sometimes regionally associated with the Midwest. American Sign Language, used mainly by the deaf, is also native to the United States.
How many languages are spoken in the US?
English is spoken by the overwhelming majority of Americans. Spanish is the second-most spoken language in the US after English. At least 350 languages are spoken in the US today. It is generally known that the overwhelming majority of people in ...
How many people speak English in the US?
Today, the US is home to approximately 331 million people, of which 300 million, or roughly 90% of the population, speak English. But millions of Americans also speak other languages. In fact, the US is home to speakers of at least 350 languages in total. Spanish is the second most spoken language in the US after English, and other languages with millions of speakers include Chinese, Tagalog (the national dialect of the Philippines), Vietnamese, and French (including French Creole).
How many languages were spoken in the United States before the Europeans arrived?
What became the United States was multilingual long before the country was founded. In fact, before the arrival of Europeans in North America, at least 300 languages were spoken by Indigenous peoples in what is now the US and Canada.
What is the second most spoken language in the US?
Spanish is the second most spoken language in the US after English, and other languages with millions of speakers include Chinese, Tagalog (the national dialect of the Philippines), Vietnamese, and French (including French Creole).
What language did the Europeans bring to the US?
When Europeans began arriving and settling in what became the US, they of course brought their mother tongues with them. A Spanish sign in Phoenix, Arizona, US. Spanish is the second-most spoken country in the US. Image credit: Rebekah Zemansky/Shutterstock. On the eve of American independence in 1776, English was the most dominant language in ...
Why did the founding fathers not declare English as the official language of the new country?
Indeed, one reason that the founding fathers of the United States did not proclaim English as the official language of the new country was that they did not want to offend those who fought for independence but were not native English speakers. The founding fathers also did not believe that the English language needed any protection under the law.
Which states have multilingualism?
Some Americans, however, have embraced multilingualism. Three US states, Hawaii, South Dakota, and Alaska, have even given official status to non-English languages. Clearly, the issue of whether or not English should be the official language of the US continues, unabated, to this day. Jason Shvili February 2 2021 in Did You Know.
Why is the climate of the United States different?
The climate of the United States varies due to changes in latitude, and a range of geographic features, including mountains and deserts. Generally, on the mainland, the climate of the U.S. becomes warmer the further south one travels, and drier the further west, until one reaches the West Coast.
Which states have a humid continental climate?
The northern half of the Great Plains (Nebraska northward), northern Midwest, Great Lakes, and New England states have a humid continental climate. Here there are four distinct seasons, with warm to hot summers, and cold and often-snowy winters.
How Can I Use a Visa to Enter the United States?
Having a U.S. visa allows you to travel to a port of entry, airport or land border crossing, and request permission of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Customs and Border Protection (CBP) inspector to enter the United States. While having a visa does not guarantee entry to the United States, it does indicate a consular officer at a U.S.
What Types of Visas Are There?
The type of visa you must obtain is defined by U.S. immigration law, and relates to the purpose of your travel. There are two main categories of U.S. visas:
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What airline is building the 200 mph line between Dallas and Houston?
This hostility has become particularly evident in Texas, according to the Texas Tribune, as the state's attempts to build a 200 mph line between Dallas and Houston have been smashed by aggressive attacks and lobbying by Southwest Airlines.
Is the US obsessed with cars?
The United States is absurdly obsessed with cars. Seriously, if you don't believe it, just think of the Fast & Furious movies. (If you're not familiar, the franchise is primarily an ode to Vin Diesel and Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, but there's also heavy car symbolism hidden in most of the movies.)
Is the airline industry a fan?
The airline industry isn't a fan, and that's a problem. Shutterstock. The real enemy foiling the launch efforts of high-speed rail in the United States isn't culture or public opinion, but rather, the billion-dollar industries that stand to take a hit.
Overview
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a transcontinental country located primarily in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territories, nine minor outlying islands, and 326 Indian reservations. It is the third-largest country by total area and fourth-largest by land area. The United States shares land borders with Canada to its north and with Mexico to its south. It has maritime b…
Etymology
The first known use of the name "America" dates to 1507, when it appeared on a world map produced by the German cartographer Martin Waldseemüller in Saint Dié, Lorraine (now northeastern France). On his map, the name is shown in large letters on what would now be considered South America, honoring Amerigo Vespucci. The Italian explorer was the first to postulate that the West Indies did not represent Asia's eastern limit but were part of a previously …
History
It is generally accepted that the first inhabitants of North America migrated from Siberia by way of the Bering land bridge and arrived at least 12,000 years ago; however, some evidence suggests an even earlier date of arrival. The Clovis culture, which appeared around 11,000 BC, is believed to represent the first wave of human settlement of the Americas. This was likely the first of three m…
Geography
The 48 contiguous states and the District of Columbia occupy a combined area of 3,119,885 square miles (8,080,470 km ). Of this area, 2,959,064 square miles (7,663,940 km ) is contiguous land, composing 83.65% of total U.S. land area. About 15% is occupied by Alaska, a state in northwestern North America, with the remainder in Hawaii, a state and archipelago in the central Pacific, and the fi…
Government and politics
The United States is a federal republic of 50 states, a federal district, five territories and several uninhabited island possessions. It is the world's oldest surviving federation. It is a federal republic and a representative democracy "in which majority rule is tempered by minority rights protected by law." In the American federal system, sovereignty is shared between two levels of govern…
Economy
According to the International Monetary Fund, the U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) of $22.7 trillion constitutes 24% of the gross world product at market exchange rates and over 16% of the gross world product at purchasing power parity (PPP). From 1983 to 2008, U.S. real compounded annual GDP growth was 3.3%, compared to a 2.3% weighted average for the rest of the G7. The countr…
Demographics
The U.S. Census Bureau reported 331,449,281 residents as of April 1, 2020, making the United States the third most populous nation in the world, after China and India. According to the Bureau's U.S. Population Clock, on January 28, 2021, the U.S. population had a net gain of one person every 100 seconds, or about 864 people per day. In 2018, 52% of Americans age 15 and over were married, …
Culture and society
The United States is home to a wide variety of ethnic groups, traditions, and values, and exerts major cultural influence on a global scale. Aside from the Native American, Native Hawaiian, and Native Alaskan populations, nearly all Americans or their ancestors immigrated or were imported as slaves within the past five centuries. Mainstream American culture is a Western culture largely de…
Overview
The culture of the United States of America is primarily of Western, and European origin, yet its influences includes the cultures of Asian American, African American, Latin American, and Native American peoples and their cultures. The United States has its own distinct social and cultural characteristics, such as dialect, music, arts, social habits, cuisine, and folklore. The United States is ethni…
Gun culture
In contrast to most other Western nations, guns are widely legal in the United States, and private gun ownership is common; almost half of American households contain at least one firearm. In fact, there are more privately owned firearms in the United States than in any other country, both per capita and in total. Considerable freedom to possess firearms is often considered by the pe…
Origins, development, and spread
The European roots of the United States originate with the English and Spanish settlers of colonial North America during British and Spanish rule. The varieties of English people, as opposed to the other peoples on the British Isles, were the overwhelming majority ethnic group in the 17th century (population of the colonies in 1700 was 250,000) and were 47.9% of percent of the total populati…
Regional variations
Semi-distinct cultural regions of the United States include New England, the Mid-Atlantic, the South, the Midwest, the Southwest, and the West—an area that can be further subdivided into the Pacific States and the Mountain States.
The west coast of the continental United States, consisting of California, Oregon, and Washington state, is also sometimes referred to as the Left Coast, indicatin…
Language
Although the United States has no official language at the federal level, 28 states have passed legislation making English the official language, and it is considered to be the de facto national language. According to the 2000 U.S. Census, more than 97% of Americans can speak English well, and for 81%, it is the only language spoken at home. The national dialect is known as American …
Art
In the late-18th and early-19th centuries, American artists primarily painted landscapes and portraits in a realistic style or that which looked to Europe for answers on technique: for example, John Singleton Copley was born in Boston, but most of his portraiture for which he is famous follow the trends of British painters like Thomas Gainsborough and the transitional period between Rococo
Science and technology
There is a regard for scientific advancement and technological innovation in American culture, resulting in the creation of many modern innovations. The great American inventors include Robert Fulton (the steamboat); Samuel Morse (the telegraph); Eli Whitney (the cotton gin, interchangeable parts); Cyrus McCormick (the reaper); and Thomas Edison (with more than a thousand inventi…
Education
Education in the United States is and has historically been provided mainly by the government. Control and funding come from three levels: federal, state, and local. School attendance is mandatory and nearly universal at the elementary and high school levels (often known outside the United States as the primary and secondary levels).