optimism about the future. If there was a central theme to his domestic
policies, it was that the federal government had become too big and federal
taxes too high.
Despite a growing federal budget deficit, in 1983 the U.S. economy entered
into one of the longest periods of sustained growth since World War II. The
Reagan administration suffered a defeat in the 1986 elections, however,
when Democrats regained control of the Senate. The most serious issue of
the day was the revelation that the United States had secretly sold arms to
Iran in an attempt to win freedom for American hostages held in Lebanon and
to finance antigovernment forces in Nicaragua at a time when Congress had
prohibited such aid. Despite these revelations, Reagan continued to enjoy
strong popularity throughout his second term in office.
His successor in 1988, Republican George Bush, benefited from Reagan's
popularity and continued many of his policies. When Iraq invaded oil-rich
Kuwait in 1990, Bush put together a multinational coalition that liberated
Kuwait early in 1991.
By 1992, however, the American electorate had become restless again.
Voters elected Bill Clinton, a Democrat, president, only to turn around two
years later and give Republicans their first majority in both the House and
Senate in 40 years. Meanwhile, several perennial debates had broken out
anew -- between advocates of a strong federal government and believers in
decentralization of power, between advocates of prayer in public schools
and defenders of separation of church and state, between those who
emphasize swift and sure punishment of criminals and those who seek to
address the underlying causes of crime. Complaints about the influence of
money on political campaigns inspired a movement to limit the number of
terms elected officials could serve. This and other discontents with the
system led to the formation of the strongest Third-Party movement in
generations, led by Texas businessman H. Ross Perot.
Although the economy was strong in the mid-1990s, two phenomena were
troubling many Americans. Corporations were resorting more and more to a
process known as downsizing: trimming the work force to cut costs despite
the hardships this inflicted on workers. And in many industries the gap
between the annual compensations of corporate executives and common
laborers had become enormous. Even the majority of Americans who enjoy
material comfort worry about a perceived decline in the quality of life, in
the strength of the family, in neighborliness and civility. Americans
probably remain the most optimistic people in the world, but with the
century drawing to a close, opinion polls showed that trait in shorter
supply than usual.
Geography and regional characteristics.
The USA stretches from the heavily industrialized, metropolitan Atlantic
coast, across the rich farms of the Great Plains, over the Appalachian and
the Rocky Mountains to the densely populated West coast. Alaska and the
island state of Hawaii are detached from the main mid-continental group of
48 states. America is the land of physical contrasts, including the
weather. Most of the USA is the temperate zone with four distinct seasons,
while the northern states and Alaska have extremely cold winters, and the
southern parts of Florida, Texas, California have warm weather year round.
The area of the United States is 9 629 091 square km.
The United States is the land of bountiful rivers and lakes. Minnesota is
the land of 10.000 lakes. The Mississippi River runs nearly 6 thousand km
from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico. The St. Lawrence Seaway connects the
Great lakes with the Atlantic Ocean.
Underground, a wealth of minerals provides a solid base for American
industry. History has glamorized the gold rushes of California and Alaska
and the silver finds in Nevada.
Location:
North America, bordering both the North Atlantic Ocean and the North
Pacific Ocean, between Canada and Mexico
Map references: North America
Area:
total area: 9,372,610 sq km
land area: 9,166,600 sq km
comparative area: about half the size of Russia; about three-tenths the
size of Africa; about one-half the size of South America (or slightly
larger than Brazil); slightly smaller than China; about two and one-half
times the size of Western Europe
note: includes only the 50 states and District of Columbia
Land boundaries: total 12,248 km, Canada 8,893 km (including 2,477 km with
Alaska), Cuba 29 km (US Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay), Mexico 3,326 km
Coastline: 19,924 km
Climate: mostly temperate, but tropical in Hawaii and Florida and arctic in
Alaska, semiarid in the great plains west of the Mississippi River and arid
in the Great Basin of the southwest; low winter temperatures in the
northwest are ameliorated occasionally in January and February by warm
chinook winds from the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains
Terrain: vast central plain, mountains in west, hills and low mountains in
east; rugged mountains and broad river valleys in Alaska; rugged, volcanic
topography in Hawaii
Natural resources: coal, copper, lead, molybdenum, phosphates, uranium,
bauxite, gold, iron, mercury, nickel, potash, silver, tungsten, zinc,
petroleum, natural gas, timber
Land use: arable land: 20%, permanent crops: 0%, meadows and pastures: 26%,
forest and woodland: 29%, other: 25%, irrigated land: 181,020 sq km (1989
est.)
Environment:
current issues: air pollution resulting in acid rain in both the US and
Canada; the US is the largest single emitter of carbon dioxide from the
burning of fossil fuels; water pollution from runoff of pesticides and
fertilizers; very limited natural fresh water resources in much of the
western part of the country require careful management; desertification.
natural hazards: tsunamis, volcanoes, and earthquake activity around
Pacific Basin; hurricanes along the Atlantic coast; tornadoes in the
midwest; mudslides in California; forest fires in the west; flooding;
permafrost in northern Alaska is a major impediment to development
international agreements: party to - Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen
Oxides, Antarctic Treaty, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Environmental
Modification, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban,
Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Wetlands,
Whaling; signed, but not ratified - Air Pollution-Volatile Organic
Compounds, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Biodiversity, Desertification,
Hazardous Wastes, Tropical Timber 94
Note: world's fourth-largest country (after Russia, Canada, and China)
Traditionally the USA is divided into several regions:
2. New England, made up of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts,
Connecticut, and Rhode Island.
3. The Middle Atlantic, comprising New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania,
Delaware, and Maryland.
4. The South, which runs from Virginia south to Florida and west as far
as central Texas. This region also includes West Virginia, Kentucky,
Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama,
Mississippi, Arkansas, Louisiana, and parts of Missouri and Oklahoma.
5. The Midwest, a broad collection of states sweeping westward from Ohio
to Nebraska and including Michigan, Indiana, Wisconsin, Illinois,
Minnesota, Iowa, parts of Missouri, North Dakota, South Dakota,
Kansas, and eastern Colorado.
6. The Southwest, made up of western Texas, portions of Oklahoma, New
Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, and the southern interior part of California.
7. The West, comprising Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, Utah, California,
Nevada, Idaho, Oregon, Washington, Alaska, and Hawaii.
Note that there is nothing official about these regions; many other lineups
are possible. These groupings are offered simply as a way to begin the
otherwise daunting task of getting acquainted with the United States.
REGIONAL VARIETY
How much sense does it make to talk about American regions when practically
all Americans can watch the same television shows and go to the same fast-
food restaurants for dinner? One way to answer the question is by giving
examples of lingering regional differences.
Consider the food Americans eat. Most of it is standard wherever you go. A
person can buy packages of frozen peas bearing the same label in Idaho,
Missouri, and Virginia. Cereals, candy bars, and many other items also come
in identical packages from Alaska to Florida. Generally, the quality of
fresh fruits and vegetables does not vary much from one state to the next.
On the other hand, it would be unusual to be served hush puppies (a kind of
fried dough) or grits (boiled and ground corn prepared in a variety of
ways) in Massachusetts or Illinois, but normal to get them in Georgia.
Other regions have similar favorites that are hard to find elsewhere.
While American English is generally standard, American speech often differs
according to what part of the country you are in. Southerners tend to speak
slowly, in what is referred to as a "Southern drawl." Midwesterners use
"flat" a's (as in "bad" or "cat"), and the New York City patois features a
number of Yiddish words ("schlepp," "nosh," "nebbish") contributed by the
city's large Jewish population.
Regional differences also make themselves felt in less tangible ways, such
as attitudes and outlooks. An example is the attention paid to foreign
events in newspapers. In the East, where people look out across the
Atlantic Ocean, papers tend to show greatest concern with what is happening
in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and western Asia. On the West Coast,
news editors give more attention to events in East Asia and Australia.
