United States of America - Quick Facts

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THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA - 
what you will need to know
BY: Apoorva Joshi


HISTORY:

Ever since the first European settlers came to the ‘New World’ that America was called [The Naming of America], American history has been intriguing and colourful. A timeline of America’s history is outlined here. Following are interesting pieces picked out from the timeline and a few other additional resources. 

English settlers, in 1607, founded the Jamestown colony of Virginia where they grew tobacco. In the 17^th and 18^th centuries, hundreds of thousands of Africans were brought to America and sold as slaves to work in plantations. Around the same time, Britain won control on the territory up to the Mississippi river.

In the struggle that lead to America’s independence from British Rule in the 1770s – the Boston Tea Party played a significant role in goading on the American Revolution in which George Washington lead an army to fight against the British Rule. 

Thomas Jefferson’s Declaration of Independence was endorsed by Congress and colonies were declared free on July 4^th, 1776 but Britain only accepted its loss of colonies via the Treaty of Paris in1783. 

The United States has fought several wars since the 18^th century revolution, to the more recent Iraq War. Of the numerous wars, the largest in terms of loss of life were- the American Civil War [1861-1865], World War I [1914-1918], World War II [1939-1945], the Korean War [1950-1953], and the Vietnam War [1954-1975]. A brief description of the wars, how they ended, and where they took place, along with separate links to more detailed information is available here.

Milestones in American history include: George Washington being elected as the first president in 1789, the Atlantic slave trade being abolished in 1808, the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, the Great Depression of the 1930s. Between the 1950s and the 1980s, Neil Armstrong landed on the Moon, political personas such as President John F. Kennedy, and black civil rights activist Martin Luther King Jr., were assassinated, President Richard Nixon resigned over the Watergate scandal. 

And then American history witnessed a massive addition to it- that would change politics, military tactics, and basically, America's trust in the world. The September 11 terrorist attacks. 

GEOGRAPHY:

The United States of America is one of the three countries in the continent of North America. It shares its boundaries with Canada to the north, Mexico to the south, the North Pacific Ocean to the west and the North Atlantic Ocean to the east.

America’s 50 states and the district of British Columbia account for a spread of 9,826,675square kilometres, making it about half the size of Russia or approximately three times the size of India.

The terrain consists of vast central plains, mountains in the west, hills and low mountains in the east, with rough mountains and broad river valleys in Alaska and rugged, volcanic topography in Hawaii. The lowest point is 86m below sea level in the Death Valley. while the highest point is Mount McKinley which is 6,194m above sea level.

Apart from Hawaii and Florida which experience tropical climate, the remaining part of the country falls under the temperate climate zone. In the expanse of plains west of the Mississippi river the climate is semi-arid while the north-western Rocky Mountain region experiences severe winters.

The Midwest and Southeast parts of the country are prone to tornadoes around March because of strong winds and torrential rains while the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic coast are vulnerable to hurricanes. The west is more susceptible to summer forest fires which are known to cause extensive damage and one of the worst recorded wildfires in the American West’s history burned down nearly a third of the famous Yellowstone National Park in 1988. The Hawaiian Islands and Alaska are particularly at risk from possible volcanic activity and have a history of devastating volcanic eruptions.

The 50 states in the US cover six time zones including Eastern Standard Time, Central Standard Time, Mountain Standard Time, Pacific Standard Time, Alaskan Standard Time and Hawaiian Standard Time.

To sum up, the United States is the world’s third largest country by size [after Russia and Canada], and by population [after China and India].

DEMOGRAPHICS:

America’s prominent ethnic groups consist of whites [79.96 percent], Hispanic* [15.1 percent], black [12.85 percent], Asian [4.43 percent], American Indians and Alaska natives [0.97 percent] and native Hawaiian and other Pacific islanders [0.18 percent] as per a July 2007 estimate.

*Hispanic groups are people of Latin American/Spanish origin who may be of any race or ethnicity but because they are not originally from the U.S.A., the US Census Bureau does not consider them as one ethnic group. About 15.1 percent of the total US population is Hispanic according to the CIA Country Factbook.

The first and most common language in America is English with 82.1 percent of people using it. Spanish is the second language at 10.7 percent. Other languages including Indo-European, Asian and Pacific languages account for approximately 7.2 percent of the people who use them as their first language.

Interestingly, 66.8 percent of the American population falls between the age bracket of 15 to 64 years while 64.9 percent of the Indian population fits in the same bracket.

Following is a glance at the population statistics of the two countries.

	United States	India
Population growth rate	0.899 percent	1.312 percent
July 2012 estimates	313,847,465	1,205,073,612
2010 Urban population record	82 percent	30 percent
Most populated cities [2009] Capitals:	Washington D.C.  4.421 million	New Delhi 21.72 million
Other major cities	New York-Newark  19.3 million	Mumbai 19.695 million

Prominent religions in America are: Christianity [Protestant 51.3 percent, Roman Catholic 23.9 percent, Mormon 1.7 percent, and other Christians 1.6 percent], Jewish [1.7 percent], Buddhist [0.7 percent], Muslim [0.6 percent].

12.1 percent of Americans are not affiliated with any religion.

POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT:

The United States is a constitution-based federal republic with a democratic form of governance. Washington D.C. is the capital and can be found on the map here.

The nation was declared independent on July 4^th, 1776 but former ruler Great Britain only recognized America’s independence in September 1983.

The president of the United States is the leader of the executive branch of the government and presidential elections are held every four years. The current president is Barack Obama and election campaigns for the opposing party’s candidates are currently underway. The president is also the commander-in-chief of the U.S. Armed Forces.The next presidential elections are scheduled to be held on 6 November 2012.

The president, vice-president and the various departments that form the Cabinet together constitute the executive branch. The Senate and the House of Representatives make up the legislative branch. The third prong of government- the judiciary – consists the U.S. Supreme Court and lower federal courts.


There are 50 states and one district that make up the administrative divisions of the country.
Today there are two main political parties in the US - the Democratic Party and the Republican Party. 
The Democratic Party evolved from Thomas Jefferson's party in 1800 and the Republican Party was established by Abraham Lincoln in the 1850s. The Democrats are said to be more liberal where as the Republicans are touted as conservative. 


A list of the various international organizations and/or societies that the U.S. is a part of is available under 'Goverment' here.

ECONOMY:

The United States is one of the world’s largest economies despite the recession that hit it hard a few years ago. Here’s an overview of the recent records on the economic status of the U.S.

According to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development [OECD], the 2010 real gross domestic product [GDP] annual growth rate in the U.S. was 2.9 percent.

Main exports in the U.S. are computers and electrical equipment, automobiles, chemicals and products, food and live animals, as well as aircrafts and military equipment. Other significant industries are consumer goods, telecommunications, medical supplies, mining, and agriculture. As of 2010, the top four export partners with the U.S. have been Canada, Mexico, China and Japan.

1933 recorded the ‘Great Depression’ – America’s worst bout of recession. And then came the 2008-2009 period. After the 1929 stock market crash, it took 27 years for the market to climb back up to pre-crash levels. 
As unemployment soared, lending initiatives and tax cuts were put in gear and worldwide bailouts were in progress to prevent an international global depression. A rapidly evolving technological arena contributed to a ‘two-tier labor market'. Workers on the lower rung, were less educated, paid less, and received fewer and weaker benefits like health insurance. While workers at the higher lever got better pay packages and benefits with raises, etc. 

Another contributing factor to the stability of the economy is the price of oil. Imported oil accounts for nearly 55percent of U.S. consumption. Oil prices double between 2001 and 2006 and then went up by another 50percent in 2008. The inflation caused the U.S. trade deficit to peak at $840 billion. 

As of 2011 and in terms of global purchasing power, the U.S. is second to the European Union and is followed by China and India. 

In the same year it was recorded that despite rampant unemployment, the U.S. laborforce was at 153.4 million – 4th after China, India and the European Union.

In 2010, an estimated 15.1percent of the U.S. population was living below the poverty line.

UNEMPLOYMENT RATES- COMPARISON

	United States	India
Unemployment rate 2010	9.6%	9.8%
Unemployment rate 2011	9.1%	10%

INFLATION RATES AND BUDGET DEFICITS

	United States	India
Inflation rate 2010	1.6%	12%
Inflation rate 2011	3%	6.8%
2011 Budget surplus/deficit	Deficit: 8.9% of GDP	Deficit: 5% of GDP

For current exchange rates between the U.S. Dollar and the Indian National Rupee, click here

SOCIETY

Depending on where you are in America, the society and culture varies. While some regions have a diverse social structure with a number of different ethnic groups and people from different nationalities living in the same area, other regions are less open to diversity and change. 


Essentially there is a classic structure in society including the lower class, the middle class, the upper middle class and the upper class. While well-off families can afford to have a higher standard of living and send their children to college, lower class families in which members work multiple jobs and multiple shifts, are often unable to provide for the children's' higher education. 
Also, one of the first observations about family structures is that parents and children here are sort of like a Tiger family. The cubs separate from parental care and venture out on their own at a certain age. After high school, kids generally look at moving out and getting a job or going to college. When they're older, they don't live with their parents - unlike long standing Indian tradition. 
Unlike Indian youth mentality and societal norms, going to college is actually an option for Americans. They can get jobs even after graduating from high school which is the equivalent of junior college in India. Students who have no academic interests and do not wish to pursue an undergraduate education [example- a bachelor's degree], can just choose to work instead. 


Another noticeable aspect of American culture and society is - relationships. From friendships to romantic relationships, the emotional bond is far less evident and 'taken-for-granted' than one might imagine. They like their privacy and they make sure they get it. Friends don't have to do everything together. Spouses don't have to tell each other everything. Girlfriends don't have to someday, turn into wives. And a marriage does not necessarily mean being together forever - considering the divorce rate. 


American people are big on their festivals and around the time of Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's, the celebrations are grand - especially in parts of the country which are metropolitan cities or significantly populated areas like Dallas, Texas or Seattle, Washington, etc. Life in these large cities is also fast and busy with people always rushing some place - extremely similar to a routine life in Mumbai. Small towns like Missoula, however, provide residents an unmatched experience of enjoying a community centered life with scores of things to do outdoors from camping and hiking, to skiing, snowboarding, fly-fishing, and hunting. The point here is, where people grow up and live has an effect on how they live their lives and what they like to do for fun. For someone living in bustling Miami, the idea of fun might not be to go skiing the next day or drive up to Flathead Lake [MT]. 
The monkey on America's back though, in this regard, has been the underlying existence of racism. This being a global concern, it is important to understand that it is not a standard problem that one might encounter in every part of the country. It is largely based on individual beliefs, backgrounds, communities, political affiliations and the like. It would be incorrect to call all of America racist. 
There are several examples of places even in small towns that are perfectly tolerant of diverse cultures and faiths. University towns are a fitting example of this. 
Missoula,MT - built around The University of Montana - is known for its diversity and its open-minded communities, thus proving that even in the most remote, non-metro regions, peace does prevail.