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.

To understand regional differences more fully, let's take a closer look at

the regions themselves.

NEW ENGLAND

The smallest region, New England has not been blessed with large expanses

of rich farmland or a mild climate. Yet it played a dominant role in

American development. From the 17th century until well into the 19th, New

England was the country's cultural and economic center.

The earliest European settlers of New England were English Protestants of

firm and settled doctrine. Many of them came in search of religious

liberty. They gave the region its distinctive political format -- the town

meeting (an outgrowth of meetings held by church elders) in which citizens

gathered to discuss issues of the day. Only men of property could vote.

Nonetheless, town meetings afforded New Englanders an unusually high level

of participation in government. Such meetings still function in many New

England communities today.

New Englanders found it difficult to farm the land in large lots, as was

common in the South. By 1750, many settlers had turned to other pursuits.

The mainstays of the region became shipbuilding, fishing, and trade. In

their business dealings, New Englanders gained a reputation for hard work,

shrewdness, thrift, and ingenuity.

These traits came in handy as the Industrial Revolution reached America in

the first half of the 19th century. In Massachusetts, Connecticut, and

Rhode Island, new factories sprang up to manufacture such goods as

clothing, rifles, and clocks. Most of the money to run these businesses

came from Boston, which was the financial heart of the nation.

New England also supported a vibrant cultural life. The critic Van Wyck

Brooks called the creation of a distinctive American literature in the

first half of the 19th century "the flowering of New England." Education is

another of the region's strongest legacies. Its cluster of top-ranking

universities and colleges -- including Harvard, Yale, Brown, Dartmouth,

Wellesley, Smith, Mt. Holyoke, Williams, Amherst, and Wesleyan -- is

unequaled by any other region.

As some of the original New England settlers migrated westward, immigrants

from Canada, Ireland, Italy, and eastern Europe moved into the region.

Despite a changing population, much of the original spirit of New England

remains. It can be seen in the simple, woodframe houses and white church

steeples that are features of many small towns, and in the traditional

lighthouses that dot the Atlantic coast.

In the 20th century, most of New England's traditional industries have

relocated to states or foreign countries where goods can be made more

cheaply. In more than a few factory towns, skilled workers have been left

without jobs. The gap has been partly filled by the microelectronics and

computer industries.

MIDDLE ATLANTIC

If New England provided the brains and dollars for 19th-century American

expansion, the Middle Atlantic states provided the muscle. The region's

largest states, New York and Pennsylvania, became centers of heavy industry

(iron, glass, and steel).

The Middle Atlantic region was settled by a wider range of people than New

England. Dutch immigrants moved into the lower Hudson River Valley in what

is now New York State. Swedes went to Delaware. English Catholics founded

Maryland, and an English Protestant sect, the Friends (Quakers), settled

Pennsylvania. In time, all these settlements fell under English control,

but the region continued to be a magnet for people of diverse

nationalities.

Early settlers were mostly farmers and traders, and the region served as a

bridge between North and South. Philadelphia, in Pennsylvania, midway

between the northern and southern colonies, was home to the Continental

Congress, the convention of delegates from the original colonies that

organized the American Revolution. The same city was the birthplace of the

Declaration of Independence in 1776 and the U.S. Constitution in 1787.

As heavy industry spread throughout the region, rivers such as the Hudson

and Delaware were transformed into vital shipping lanes. Cities on

waterways -- New York on the Hudson, Philadelphia on the Delaware,

Baltimore on Chesapeake Bay -- grew dramatically. New York is still the

nation's largest city, its financial hub, and its cultural center.

Like New England, the Middle Atlantic region has seen much of its heavy

industry relocate elsewhere. Other industries, such as drug manufacturing

and communications, have taken up the slack.

THE SOUTH

The South is perhaps the most distinctive and colorful American region. The

American Civil War (1861-65) devastated the South socially and

economically. Nevertheless, it retained its unmistakable identity.

Like New England, the South was first settled by English Protestants. But

whereas New Englanders tended to stress their differences from the old

country, Southerners tended to emulate the English. Even so, Southerners

were prominent among the leaders of the American Revolution, and four of

America's first five presidents were Virginians. After 1800, however, the

interests of the manufacturing North and the agrarian South began to

diverge.

Especially in coastal areas, southern settlers grew wealthy by raising and

selling cotton and tobacco. The most economical way to raise these crops

was on large farms, called plantations, which required the work of many

laborers. To supply this need, plantation owners relied on slaves brought

from Africa, and slavery spread throughout the South.

Slavery was the most contentious issue dividing North and South. To

northerners it was immoral; to southerners it was integral to their way of

life. In 1860, 11 southern states left the Union intending to form a

separate nation, the Confederate States of America. This rupture led to the

Civil War, the Confederacy's defeat, and the end of slavery. (For more on

the Civil War, see chapter 3.) The scars left by the war took decades to

heal. The abolition of slavery failed to provide African Americans with

political or economic equality: Southern towns and cities legalized and

refined the practice of racial segregation.

It took a long, concerted effort by African Americans and their supporters

to end segregation. In the meantime, however, the South could point with

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