The United States of America is the fourth largest country in the world. Every state has different laws and traditions and there are four different time zones.

The USA borders Canada in the north and Mexico in the south. There is an arctic climate in Alaska and a subtropical climate in Florida.

The USA is a federation of fifty states. Forty eight are on the mainland and there is Alaska on the north west of Canada and the Hawaiian islands in the Pacific Ocean.

The capital city is Washington DC.

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The flag

The flag of the United States of America is called "The Stars and Stripes". The thirteen stripes represent the thirteen original colonies and fifty stars represent the fifty actual states. The colours of the flag are blue for justice, red for courage and white for innocence. American English is the first language and the second is Spanish. The currency is the American dollar.

 

Government

The United States is a Federal Republic of 50 states. The federal government is made up of the President who is the executive branch, Congress which is the legislative branch and the Supreme Court which is the judicial branch. There is a presidential system of government. The president:

-cannot be younger than 35;

-must be a native born American;

-must be a resident of the USA for 14 years.

One person cannot have too much power, so Congress must approve the President's decisions . Congress makes laws and there are two parts to Congress:

-the House of Representatives (435 members elected for two years);

-the Senate (100 members, two from each state, elected for six years).

There are two main political parties: the Republican Party and the Democratic Party.