United States of America
The USA is a federal republic
composed of a federal district (Washington, D.C.) and 50 states, which all
except one-Hawaii islands-are in mainland America.
The United States of America,
which covers the central part of America, grew out of the British colonies that
were established in North America in the first half of the 17th
century. The Declaration of Independence of the 13 states of which the American
Union then consisted was adopted by Congress on July 4, 1776.
The victory of the Allies in
WW-1 made USA a world power. The end of the WW-2 saw the emergence of USA as
one of the superpowers. With the break-up of USSAR in 1991, it has now become the
only superpower in the world.
The US contains a highly
diverse population, the product of numerous and sustained waves of immigration.
Ethnic and racial diversity-“the melting pot”-is celebrated as a core element
of the American ideology.
The 1964 Civil Rights Act
outlawed racial and other discrimination, but race continues to be a live
issue.
The election of Barack Obama
as the country’s first African-American president in November 2008 marked a
defining moment in the country’s chequered history of race relations.
The Union originally
comprised 13 states, to which 7 were added subsequently. Thirty other states,
which were formerly territories, were also the Union as full states, thus
making up 50 states in all, apart from the District of Columbia.
Source: Manorama yearbook
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